Few teams changed as much as the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2025 NFL offseason, making their final roster cut process an interesting affair. None of their releases was more surprising than 2024 breakout star Sincere McCormick.
McCormick's name could easily be missed as one of the dozens of players the Raiders sent packing at the 2025 roster deadline. In addition to its former fan-favorite running back, Las Vegas also notably released safety Terrell Edmunds, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, linebacker Jaylon Smith and receivers Marquez Callaway and Phillip Dorsett II.
The Raiders also released two of their 11 2025 NFL Draft picks by excluding Cam Miller and Tommy Mellott from their 53-man roster. Miller and Mellott subsequently signed with the team's practice squad.
The Raiders already had a complicated roster cut process, but added to the insanity late in the offseason. Las Vegas acquired quarterback Kenny Pickett from the Cleveland Browns to back up Geno Smith in 2025 before reuniting with Amari Cooper. The team acquired Pickett after placing backup Aidan O'Connell on injured reserve to begin the season.
The late activity makes it less like cutting McCormick was a no-brainer. The shifty running back has spent the majority of his career to date on the practice squad, which is where the Raiders likely planned to stash him. Unfortunately for Las Vegas, McCormick's late-year breakout turned him into one of the worst-kept secrets in the league, making it more challenging to keep him on the practice squad after letting him go.
Raiders surprisingly release Sincere McCormick
At first glance, nothing about Sincere McCormick's release seems surprising. He is a 24-year-old former undrafted free agent from UTSA preparing for his fourth professional season. After going undrafted in 2022, McCormick signed with the Raiders' practice squad, where he has spent the majority of his career.
McCormick did not see any game action in his first two years, which seemed to lay out his career arc. However, everything changed in 2024, when he became one of the league's latest Cinderella stories.
With Alexander Mattison, Zamir White and Ameer Abdullah producing next to nothing out of the backfield, the Raiders gave McCormick his shot against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13. The game served as the league's annual Black Friday prime time game, raising the stakes even higher.
McCormick did not disappoint, taking his 12 carries for 64 rushing yards. He backed up his eye-opening performance in Week 14 and racked up 78 rushing yards in his first career start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was only two weeks, and the Raiders had nothing to play for by that point. Regardless, McCormick proved himself as a capable NFL running back against two teams that would eventually reach the playoffs.
Unfortunately, his situation would get more complicated in the offseason. The Raiders used the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on super prospect Ashton Jeanty. The selection effectively ended any hope McCormick had of beginning the 2025 season as Las Vegas' starting running back.
Nobody expected McCormick to compete with Jeanty, but he showed enough late in the year to return to the team as a backup. At the very least, he showed more in his two games than either Mattison, White or Abdullah did all season. Yet, as the Raiders finalized their 2025 53-man roster, McCormick was not one of the four running backs on the team.
Sincere McCormick already with a new team
McCormick's release was not only surprising due to his late-season outbreak. The Raiders opted to keep White, Raheem Mostert and Dylan Laube as their backups over him.
McCormick is arguably a more efficient player than White or Mostert, but there is not much of an argument for keeping Laube over him. Laube, a 2024 sixth-round pick, took one carry in 2024 and fumbled it. The turnover mostly a stellar play by T.J. Watt than it was an error on Laube's part, but the running back did nothing the rest of the season that McCormick could not also do.
As controversial as his release might be, McCormick has already moved on. The Raiders seemed inclined to keep him on their practice squad, but he instead joined a new team within hours of his relese. McCormick will begin the 2025 season on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad.
The 49ers' backfield is much deeper than that of the Raiders, seemingly giving McCormick a stiffer challenge in his quest to return to an NFL roster. San Francisco got even deeper at the position by acquiring Brian Robinson Jr. in a trade with the Washington Commanders in late August.
However, if history is any indication, no team consistently suffers more running back injuries than San Francisco. The 49ers gave four different running backs at least one start in 2024. Three of them — Christian McCaffrey, Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor — return to the team in 2025.
Despite being one of the Raiders' final roster cuts in 2025, it would be surprise if McCormick did not find his way back to the field. Even if it is not with the 49ers, any team in the league can poach him off their practice squad if the injury bug rears its ugly head.
