Raheem Mostert – August 2, 2024
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Friday, August 2, 2024
RB Raheem Mostert
(I wanted to ask you about the offensive line. Last year, the team was fourth-best in sacks allowed and first in the whole league in yards per carry for rushes. Yet, I just saw a poll come out that has the o-line ranked 23rd. Why do you think there’s scrutiny on the offensive line? What do you think?) – ”The statistics are the statistics, but in regards to the o-line, I think that they’re doing their best when they’re required to. For them to come out with a poll that they’re the 23rd-best or whatever, that’s all fine because there’s other o-linemen that may be better, but as far as numbers and what we did last year, I don’t think there’s any o-line that can compete with what we’ve done, especially in this offense – it’s super high-flying and speed is all around. You’ve got nothing but playmakers that can get the job done and it starts up front, and you have a great leader like Terron (Armstead). For him to come in, takeover for the scene, him battling through all different types of adversity and still be able to be a high-caliber type of player, that just shows you the type of resilience the o-line has, because they look up to him and many others, like Kendall Lamm, there’s a whole group of guys. They know what they have to do.”
(I’m doing something on having three potential hall-of-famers on this roster: DT Calais Campbell, CB Jalen Ramsey and WR Tyreek Hill. What does this add to this team on the field and off of the field?) – “Those guys are just amazing, and you see what they do day-in and day-out. Starting with Calais (Campbell), he’s a savvy, savvy vet. Year 17, age 44. (laughter) Going into a great career, he just brings a lot of juice and energy at his stature. The guy is just – he’s built like a tank. And you see him on the field, especially me as a running back, I’m breaking the huddle and I got to line up against this guy, it only makes me get more confidence in the o-line and same thing with the o-linemen. They see him and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this guy. We got to strap it up,’ especially at the caliber that he is. And then you got Tyreek (Hill) who is just – I mean, ‘10’ is just always going to be a playmaker, no matter what’s going on, no matter what team he’s on. He’s always bringing that juice and that energy. Then you got (Jalen) Ramsey, I’ve been blessed to play against him when we were in the NFC West for so many years and I know that type of guy. I know exactly what he’s going to bring each and every game. He gave a speech a couple days ago and just basically telling everyone it’s OK to trash talk each other in practice, it’s just going to build our character up, build our brotherhood up, and when we face other opponents, you got to have that dawg mentality. He’s been able to bring that mentality day-in and day-out. So to have those three guys, especially at their caliber and what they’ve been able to do, it just brings along potential hall-of-famers within the team and it’s really fun.”
(There’s a lot of talk about the bond, the chemistry, spending time together, hanging out. You’ve been around last year; you’ve been around other teams. What’s the difference and why is it so important?) – “The difference is we got a collective group of guys that are actually bought in and they want to succeed, and if that means hanging out outside the facility, we’re going to go through any extent to make that happen. We’re doing a great job with that stuff. We’re inviting each other to events in the offseason. Terron (Armstead) had his camp and his thing that he was doing, so did Tyreek (Hill) and many others, Alec Ingold, he does a lot. So you try to just get involved with the guys because it means more off the field than it does on the field. But on the field, you do have to have that brotherhood and know that you’re going to go to battle with each other.”
(I think for the first time you made the NFL Top 100 list. Your thoughts on that?) – “I was pretty high. I was a little distraught because I thought I was going to be a little lower, but honestly it just gives me more motivation to work even harder. I did what I did last year, but now its time to move on. It’s year 2024 and I got bigger and better things that I want to get accomplished, and also, I want to help this team as much as I possibly can because it’s going to be nice to have a championship down here in South Florida.”
(Do you think you are still underrated even now?) – “I’m always going to be underrated, no matter what. I’m an underrated, under the radar type of guy, that’s fine with me. When I do the things that I do and compete and show people that I’m worth something, I’m worth a damn, then that’s when all the haters, they’re usually quiet. I like that, I feed off of that type of stuff and I don’t listen to what everybody else has to say. I’m just going to go out here, help this team win and I’m going to do what I have to do.”
(We got the chance to see the first of those kickoff rules obviously in the Hall of Fame Game. What’s your thought on that and obviously from an offensive standpoint?) – “Yeah, I think it’s a great opportunity to bring a new rule like that to coming in and you see the way it’s set up. First off, it’s about player safety, that’s the most important thing, and then we’re going to see a lot more returns, not so many touchbacks nowadays so it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be fun for both sides watching kickoff and kickoff return, and I’m just excited to see how it plays out because it’s a new rule. I’m very old school – I like to get behind that wedge and see daylight and run and blow some stuff up, but it’s fun to see this thing.”
(You were asked about the guys up front, but in this scheme they kind of rely on you too to make them right at times as far as zone and the cuts. What’s that process like for you guys at this time of year? And is there any connection to, last year there were a lot of games where you had guys that started a game and didn’t finish a game up front and how did that impact you guys in the backfield?) – “To your first point, it’s all about patience. We have to gain the trust in the o-linemen and they have to gain the trust in the running backs to make them right. It goes hand in hand. And then in regards to last year, we had a lot of mix up at the o-line. It seemed like we didn’t have the same o-line more than three games, which is totally fine because we still got the job done. We were still No. 1 in offense in pretty much every category. Just getting a group of guys to settle in and them working together and the cohesiveness, it just brings a lot of ability and a lot of comfort in knowing everything’s going to work out.”
(We’re a week out obviously from the first game, a lot of fans are wanting to know is there anything that you guys have as far as a ritual before the game? Is there something you eat? Maybe something like that?) – “Not in particular. I will say we’re excited about the touchdown celebrations, getting those things backed up and ramped up, so we’ll see. I feel like we’ve got a couple of things up our sleeves. We’ve just got to practice it a little bit, but I think that’s going to be in season. But we’re excited. This offense is going to be high-flying, this team’s going to be great. You see what the defense is doing, they’re just lights out. It’s a battle every day with the defense and they’re making us better, and we’re making them better. So we’re just excited to get to, we’re playing here against Atlanta and we’re going to see what the team is made of at that moment.”
(What’s the maintenance plan for you?) – “Honestly, they just call my number, I go out there. I’m feeling great. I’m ready to go, ready to rock. I don’t know, we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes but just know that every time their going to call my number, I’m going to be ready to go.”
