With both the Raiders top two backs out with injury last week against the Broncos, practice squad back Sincere McCormick got his first real shot in an NFL game. And he showed up well for himself.
The former undrafted free agent out of Texas-San Antonio carried the ball five times for 33 yards (6.6 yards per carry). This for a guy who had never had a carry in the NFL before. But he earned his opportunity with his play in practice
“We see it every day in practice,” Pierce said of McCormick. “Just opportunities, right? How many guys can we dress? We can’t dress five running backs each week. You don’t want to see it happen through injuries and guys getting hurt or anything of that nature, but when he got in there his first carry he went 10+ yards and the next one, he’s bouncing off guys. Just the energy that he brought to our offense, I really liked that.”
McCormick joined the Raiders prior to last season, and just hung around before last week, with both Zamir White and Alexander Mattison lost to injury in the same week, he got his shot.
Well, it’s very possible, even likely, that the Raiders will once again be without White and Mattison. And their absences as as McCormick’s performance may see an increased role for him in the offense this week when they head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.
“I’m excited about Sincere this week,” Antonio Pierce added. “I’m fired up to see him carry the ball.”
McCormick figures to get more carries between the tackles while Ameer Abdullah could continue to see carries in space and catching passes out of the backfield.
