The 49ers could be getting some much-needed reinforcements at cornerback. While San Francisco put together the NFL’s stingiest pass defense last season, they struggled to establish a regular presence on the opposite side of Richard Sherman.
Sherman gave his thoughts on some of the team’s corners in an interview with Matt Barrows in the Athletic. He discussed potential starter Emmanuel Moseley and 2019 sixth-round pick Tim Harris, but the portion of the conversation that really jumped out was when he brought up veteran cornerback Jason Verrett.
The former first-round pick of the Chargers signed with the 49ers last season after five injury-riddled years in San Diego. Verrett made the 49ers’ roster and was the first corner off the bench when Ahkello Witherspoon went down with a foot injury in Week 3. It didn’t go well for the one-time Pro Bowler. He was flagged for a long pass interference penalty, then gave up a long touchdown on the next play. He exited the game and wound up going on Injured Reserve with a knee injury.
The 49ers re-signed Verrett again this offseason while they try and cobble together some higher quality depth at the position. It’s easy to write off Verrett given that he’s played just 26 games in six years and only six games since 2016. Sherman still believes in Verrett though, and said he’s running as fast as he ever has.
Via Barrows:
Instead of giving up on his NFL career after yet another setback, the cornerback continued to rehabilitate with the 49ers throughout the season. Before his Week 3 knee injury, Sherman said, the GPS monitor in Verrett’s shoulder pads recorded him reaching maximum speeds in the 20 mph range. During his rehabilitation sessions at season’s end, Sherman said he had pushed that mark into the 21 mph range and that Verrett’s confidence had risen along with his speed.
Getting a healthy Verrett would be a nice boost to the 49ers’ secondary depth. Sherman is locked in as a starter and Moseley is likely going to line up across from him. Ahkello Witherspoon is a capable starter and overqualified backup, but after that the pickings at outside corner are slim.
Getting Verrett at full strength where he’s playing something close to the level that earned him a Pro Bowl nod in 2015 when he played a career-high 14 games would give the 49ers a very deep group of corners. In fact, if Verrett reaches that level, he’d be in the thick of the competition to start alongside Sherman.
After a couple years dealing with some pretty bad injury adversity, the 49ers would welcome the good news of Verrett getting and staying healthy for the first time in six years. The true test will come in mid-August when the 49ers get into their on-field workouts, but Sherman’s optimism is a positive sign for Verrett heading into camp.
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