From UTSA’s practice squad to NFL starter: The Las Vegas Raiders have named Sincere McCormick as their starting running back.
SAN ANTONIO — Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has announced former UTSA running back Sincere McCormick as the starter for Week 15.
In 2021, his junior season and final collegiate campaign, McCormick rushed for 15 touchdowns and a Conference USA-best 1,479 yards, averaging 113.8 per game. He finished the season with Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors after helping lead the Roadrunners to a 12-1 record and Conference USA Championship victory.
Even after rushing for almost 4,000 yards and 35 total touchdowns in his three-year collegiate career, McCormick went undrafted in 2022 before being signed by the Raiders in May of that year.
Just three weeks after signing his first NFL contract, McCormick was placed on the Injured Reserved List, leading him to be waived by the team two separate times before being re-signed to the practice squad in August of this year.
On Dec. 3, McCormick was promoted to the Raiders’ active roster after injuries to some players ahead of him on the depth chart.
Since the promotion, he has only seen his production increase, from his first game only seeing 10% of the offensive snaps, to his most recent outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was on the field for 61% of the game and had 17 touches for 89 yards.
Head coach Antonio Pierce announced in a press conference on Wednesday that even if the team’s top running back, Alexander Mattison, returns from his ankle injury this week, McCormick will be the starter.
McCormick spoke with the media following the announcement and said the road wasn’t easy, but he knew he was always built and ready for when his name was called, adding that his NFL journey “feels like being a Roadrunner again… BEEP BEEP!”