A season-ending injury to cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will test the 49ers depth at CB for the first time this season. There are a handful of options on the roster already, but the most intriguing possibility is veteran CB Jason Verrett, who’s still working his way back from an ACL tear from last season.
San Francisco opened Verrett’s three-week practice window prior to Week 5, and he got through his first week of participation without any problems. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said when Verrett is healthy and ready to play, he’d be first in line to take the starting CB spot opposite Charvarius Ward.
“Oh yeah,” Shanahan said. “If Verrett’s good to go, he’s a big-time corner, so if Verrett can get these practice reps and get out there and get fully-healed and get back into game-shape and ready to go, he’ll end up being our guy.”
It’s been a long road back for the oft-injured cornerback, but overcoming the ACL tear is only part of the battle. Verrett didn’t participate at all in the offseason program or training camp. That means his one day of full-speed practice leading up to Week 5 is his first football action since he went down in Week 1 of last season.
There’s a strong chance the team utilizes his entire three-week practice window before activating him. Even then they may not have him up and in uniform right away. Still, the fact he’s even in position to return is astounding considering his injury history, and Shanahan isn’t overlooking Verrett to step in and play well.
“Oh, I’m definitely not putting it past him,” Shanahan said. “J.V. is, I’m sure you guys have seen a little bit of him just being around him, he is he is a very impressive person and he’s gone through as much bad things in his career that he has continually had to try to overcome.
“And man, playing the whole year in 2020 and the type of year he had before all the things that happened before that was unbelievable. And he, again, had the setback the next year in Week One verse Detroit and he’s been working like he always has to come back from that. And he’s done the work to where he is healthy enough to get into practice now, but we just need him to practice some so he can make sure that he can hold up through everything and get his skillset back. And if he does do that, I think you guys know just like most of the people in this league know how good of a corner J.V. is.”
Verrett was a first-round pick of the Chargers in 2014. He was a Pro Bowler in 2015 when he played in 14 games, but between his rookie year and 2019 he managed to suit up for only 26 games.
2020 was a bounce-back year though where he played in 13 games for the 49ers after suffering a setback with a previous ACL tear in 2019. During the 2020 campaign he showed why San Francisco stuck with him through the injury in 2019, and why they continue to give him opportunities in 2022. He’s still a Pro Bowl caliber corner when he’s right, and given his track record for battling back, the 49ers are willing to give him another shot at proving himself capable of playing at that level.
If he does step in eventually and reach the level he played at in 2020, there won’t be any drop off in the 49ers’ secondary without Moseley.
