The presence of Zamir White was supposed to ease Las Vegas Raiders fans' concerns about getting rid of Josh Jacobs just one year removed from his NFL rushing title. After watching him at the tail end of the 2023 season, it was hard to argue that White could be almost as effective and much cheaper.
But White fell flat on his face during the 2024 campaign, in part due to injuries, and the Raiders re-tooled the running back room last offseason after his failures. And this offseason, they let their 2022 fourth-round pick walk in free agency, where White remained unsigned for months on end.
Just one night before they are set to play against the Tennessee Titans in the preseason opener, however, the San Francisco 49ers decided to bring White aboard. They signed him as a free agent, according to the NFL's transaction wire. Here, he'll join a host of his former teammates in Las Vegas.
49ers add RB Zamir White to their list of former Raiders on the roster
After working out with a handful of teams this summer, including the Dallas Cowboys, White has finally landed in San Francisco alongside former Raiders like cornerbacks Jack Jones and Nate Hobbs, running back Sincere McCormick and offensive tackle Brandon Parker.
It is unclear why the 49ers would want so many castoffs from a struggling team like Las Vegas, but hey, more power to them. And perhaps White is just a camp body, as at joint practices on Tuesday with the Titans, Kyle Shanahan's team was missing three running backs.
White will have a chance, though, to prove himself worthy of a roster spot with so many expected absences in San Francisco's preseason opener. Obviously, Christian McCaffrey, rookie Kaelon Black and returner Jordan James are locks for the running back room. But can White still make a case?
Patrick Taylor seems like the frontrunner to land the No. 4 running back spot, and White will have to beat out him and other solid players like McCormick and Khalil Herbert. Clearly, he can catch lightning in a bottle and make a team get irrationally high on him, as he did in 2023 in Las Vegas.
Ironically enough, White, if he remains on the roster in San Francisco throughout the preseason, will actually travel back to Las Vegas, as the 49ers take on the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in the final game of the exhibition slate. Surely, he'll be extra motivated to put together a good showing then.
Maybe White surprises people and sneaks onto the 49ers' roster, or he at least makes a good enough impression for them to sign him later in the year when they are inevitably dealing with some kind of injury in San Francisco. Either way, he has finally landed another chance in the NFL after a long wait.
And White has no shortage of familiar faces in the building to learn the ropes from.
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