The San Francisco 49ers have added another piece to their running back room, signing former Las Vegas Raiders draft pick Zamir White to a one-year contract.
The move comes after White made multiple visits around the league this offseason without finding a landing spot, making his third stop in San Francisco the one that finally stuck.
White arrived in the NFL with plenty of intrigue. Selected in the fourth round out of Georgia, he carried the reputation of a powerful, decisive runner who could handle a heavy workload.
The primary reason he slid in the draft stemmed from injury history, specifically multiple torn ACLs sustained in high school and college.
Those concerns proved less of an issue once he reached the professional level, where he managed to stay relatively healthy. Production, however, never fully matched the early expectations.
During his time in Las Vegas, White showed flashes of the talent that once made him a highly-touted weapon in the Raiders’ backfield. His strongest stretch came in 2023, but beyond that he never topped 183 rushing yards in a single season.
Opportunity arrived in 2024 when he entered the year as a candidate to start in Week 1. The results were disappointing. White averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and eventually lost his role.
Those struggles contributed to the Raiders’ decision to invest a first-round pick in Ashton Jeanty the following year, effectively closing the door on White’s future with the team.
For the 49ers, the signing represents a low-risk addition to a backfield that already leans on a physical, run-heavy approach. White is expected to compete for a roster spot as a depth piece rather than a featured option.
If he makes the final cut, the volume of carries San Francisco typically generates could give him meaningful opportunities to contribute in certain packages or as an insurance option behind the primary backs.
White’s career has been defined by moments of promise interrupted by inconsistency. The 49ers are betting that a change of scenery and a clearer role as a complementary piece might allow those earlier flashes to reappear.
Whether that translates into sustained production remains to be seen, but the one-year deal gives both sides a chance to find out without long-term commitment.
For a player who once carried higher expectations in Las Vegas, the move to San Francisco offers a fresh start and another opportunity to prove he belongs in an NFL backfield.
