The 49ers’ shaky secondary depth was tested against the Lions late in San Francisco’s near Week 1 meltdown. They didn’t waste any time looking to remedy that issue, agreeing to a deal with free agent cornerback Dre Kirkpatrickagreeing to a deal with free agent cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
The 31-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals before joining the Cardinals for the 2020 campaign. He played in 14 games with 11 starts for Arizona last year and hauled in three interceptions.
In his nine-year career Kirkpatrick has played in 113 games with 78 starts. He has 13 interceptions to go along with 72 pass breakups.
Kirkpatrick will join a secondary in a bit of disarray following a season-ending ACL tear for starter Jason Verrett. The 49ers’ other starter Emmanuel Moseley missed the season opener because of a knee injury, leaving veteran Dontae Johnson and rookies Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas as the only healthy options. Veteran Josh Norman was a healthy scratch as he gets back into playing shape.
San Francisco won’t need to work hard to clear a roster spot for the veteran cornerback. Verrett is set to go on season-ending injured reserve, and running back Raheem Mostert is also due to hit IR because of a knee injury he sustained against Detroit.