'I was prepared for this moment': Sincere McCormick making an impact in the Raiders' backfield

Dec 05, 2024 at 04:03 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

It was nearly over before it even started for Sincere McCormick.

The running back has recently, in a literal and metaphorical sense, rushed his way through opening doors. With Zamir White and Alexander Mattison battling injures, McCormick was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad to serve as another option behind veteran Ameer Abdullah.

"It's the saying, 'Be ready so you don't have to get ready,'" McCormick said. "Every time I'm at practice, I'm practicing like I'm playing in the game. That mentality that I carry through practice, it was easy to translate to the game because that's what I had already been doing.

"It's not like it was like, 'Oh, now it's my turn, I've got to get ready for it.' It was something I was already ready for and I was prepared for this moment."

McCormick truly seized his moment as he was the team's leading rusher in Weeks 12 and 13, totaling 97 yards on 17 carries in that span. His 5.7 yards per carry is currently the most of any running back on the Raiders roster.

"What you're seeing on gamedays, on Sundays and Friday from last week, is what we saw every day in practice," Head Coach Antonio Pierce said. "A guy that ran hard, runs tough, good vision, decisive, hits the hole. First guy is not tackling him right now, and that's been a big key for us in the run game, not getting tackled by that first defender. So, he's making the most of his opportunity. He'll keep getting opportunities."

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The opportunity McCormick is receiving is one he's scratched and clawed for since arriving to Las Vegas in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. His NFL journey began with a not so minor setback before he entered his first training camp.

He described coming into the offseason program with a "chip on my shoulder, knowing I had to come in and prove a point." At University of Texas at San Antonio, he won the Conference USA (C-USA) Offensive Player of the Year twice and earned third-team All-American honors. He also still holds the school's career record for rushing yards (3,929) and rushing touchdowns (34).

However, he was overlooked in the 2022 NFL Draft and ultimately signed with the Raiders, hoping to get a shot at his NFL dream. His ultimate goal of making the 53-man roster took an unexpected turn in OTAs after he planted his foot oddly while fielding punts during practice.

He tore his ACL and LCL – putting his NFL career in jeopardy before the start of mandatory minicamp.

"My mindset was, 'This might be it. This might be done,'" McCormick reflected. "But after talking to my mom, I had a great support system [that] helped me get back in that mentality of continuing to work and it's all going to be better."

More than a calendar year passed by before McCormick stepped back on a football field. After rehabbing his knee injuries, he showed glimpses of the same promise the Raiders saw from the UTSA Roadrunner in college. He finished the 2023 preseason with 60 scrimmage yards and two total touchdowns.

But with All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs as the starter, veterans Brandon Bolden and Abdullah in the room, and the Silver and Black selecting White and Brittain Brown in that year's draft, it wasn't in the cards for McCormick. He spent the entirety of the 2023 season on the practice squad and found himself in the same boat to open up the following season.

While grinding away in the shadows on the practice squad, he said the experience was necessary and beneficial to his development. Under the tutelage of the other veteran running backs in the room, none of them are surprised by how McCormick has made the most of his carries.

"He's a hard-runner, great base, very coachable," Abdullah said. "I think one thing that's an underrated thing is going up against the No. 1 defense all year on the scout team. It keeps you sharp. It's good to see him have an opportunity to put it on display, how he's been sharpening his tools. I mean, we knew it, we knew it all along. All the backs here think he's a heck of a back and I think the best is yet to be seen."

The lifelong dream McCormick manifested came to fruition this past Tuesday when the team signed him to the active roster. Pierce and interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner mentioned this week that more will be store for his workload moving into the late stretch of the season.

"All the hard work and constantly not knowing what's going to happen, [wondering] when am I going to get my shot, and to finally get my shot was something I was prepared for," McCormick said. "Now I'm here and I'm ready and I'm establishing that. I'm going to speak into existence all the time and it's always going to carry forward that I can constantly do what I want to do and that shows you that the process doesn't change.

"As long as you continue to put the work in, God will reward you when your time is to come. It's all God's timing at the end of the day."

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Las Vegas Raiders assistant defense coach Josh Phillips during practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.