Oakland Roots announced they have released fullback Justin Rasmussen following a “request due to personal reasons.”
One club source confirmed Roots honored Rasmussen’s request after he asked to be cut for personal reasons. Roots could not elaborate on the fullback’s reasons.
Rasmussen notably wasn’t on the team’s substitutes list in their recent match at Colorado Springs. The move comes weeks after the club acquired fellow fullback Morey Doner from Detroit City.
There have been signs that Rasmussen was falling out of favor in 2025, having started just three times in nine appearances thus far. His last start came on April 15 in Roots’ 2-1 loss to Tacoma Defiance in the U.S. Open Cup. Since then, he’s totaled just 44 minutes of action in three appearances off the bench.
He scored the team’s first goal in the Coliseum against San Antonio FC with a miraculous bicycle kick.
Wolfgang Prentice started Saturday’s match in the left midfield role that Rasmussen typically played. This leaves Baboucarr Njie as the other primary option at the wide position on the left side, while Ilya Alekseev has also proven he can line up on both sides.
Rasmussen, 26, began his career with Arizona FC of the NPSL in 2018 before signing with Orange County SC’s U-23 team the following year. He joined Portland Timbers’ U-23 squad in 2021 before becoming the No. 27 overall pick by Portland in the 2022 MLS Super Draft.
He bounced between Portland Timbers’ MLS team and Timbers 2 before signing on with Oakland Roots in February 2024.
During his time with Roots, Rasmussen appeared in 40 matches and started 27 times, playing for 2,510 minutes, scoring two goals and providing three assists.