It’s hard to believe there was a time when the Las Vegas Raiders had the utmost faith in Zamir White, to the point that the team was content letting first-team All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs walk in free agency. It’s even harder to believe that happened only one calendar year ago, and already, White’s future in Sin City is uncertain. As those at The Athletic reported some weeks ago, Pete Carroll and John Spytek have been testing the 25-year-old’s trade value after his 65-carry, 183-yard ’24 campaign.
That equals a mere 2.8 yards per carry.
It should come as little surprise that among all running back’s across the National Football League with at least 50 carries, White’s rushing grade of 40.8 via Pro Football Focus ranked dead last. No other player was particularly close, either; Ty Chandler’s mark of 54.3 was the second-lowest among all players with 50-plus rushing attempts.
On 65 attempts, White was only able to make six would-be tacklers miss. For reference, Ameer Abdullah forced 13 missed tackles on 66 carries while Sincere McCormick, who took over as the lead back down the stretch, made eight would-be tacklers miss on 39 rushes.
The only running back on Las Vegas’ roster to post a worse forced missed tackle percentage than White in 2024 was Dylan Laube, technically, who failed to make any tacklers miss on his one rushing attempt. All other runners on the roster were far ahead of Zamir in this category, as were most running backs across the entirety of the NFL.
So what do you do with White if you’re Pete Carroll, who’s made his desire to run the football known since his first day in Sin City? That’s the question moving forward.
Zamir White’s future with the Las Vegas Raiders under Pete Carroll
Assuming the Raiders add at least one running back during Day 1 or Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft – and, for what it’s worth, I feel confident marking Ashton Jeanty to Sin City at sixth-overall for the time being – it’s hard to see any scenario where Zamir White is on the roster entering Week 1 of the regular season.
Las Vegas didn’t have to shop White for that claim to be made, either.
If you’re trying to guess who makes the 53-man roster heading into Week 1, you can go ahead and pencil in Raheem Mostert and Sincere McCormick at the running back position. You can also safely mark the hypothetical high-drafted running back as part of the 53-man squad.
That leaves one, maybe two spots available for: Isaiah Spiller, Dylan Laube, Zamir White, or, as many predict, another running back who will be added either through free agency or April’s draft.
The situations with Spiller and Laube are a bit unique. Spiller was added to Las Vegas’ practice squad by now-former Raiders general manager Tom Telesco in mid-December. But of course he was; Telesco is, after all, the person who drafted Spiller in the fourth-round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the Los Angeles Chargers. One pick after Zamir White, in fact.
But just because Spiller was Telesco’s guy doesn’t mean he’s Pete Carroll’s guy, or new-Raiders general manager John Spytek’s guy. And that same sentiment applies to Dylan Laube, who Telesco, not Spytek, brought into the NFL.
However, of all the players mentioned in this section, Laube’s skillset is the most prominent for being a third-down back. You can go ahead and pencil him in as well.
So where does Zamir White fit in?
Well, that’s the thing. He doesn’t, if the Raiders add a running back early in the 2025 NFL Draft. The runner drafted early will be the Raiders’ [hopeful] premier back while Laube often sees field time on third-and-long situations. Mostert and McCormick provide rotational playmaking, leaving Zamir White without a place on the roster.
And, as such, the Raiders are actively shopping their 25-year-old back.
If no trade partner emerges, the most likely event is White becoming a cut-casualty as Las Vegas trims their roster to 53. However, a big training camp and preseason performance could save him a spot on the team, assuming no trade has happened by this point.
He is still only 25 years of age, after all.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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