Coming off an impressive year, cornerback Jason Verrett was a player the 49ers were counting on when 2021 season opened.
Now, Verrett re-classifies in 2022 as a nothing-to-lose signing with his fourth consecutive one-year contract with the 49ers.
The 49ers on Monday announced the re-signing of Verrett, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in the season opener when the club was expecting him to be the closest thing they had to a shut-down corner.
If Verrett is healthy, there is no doubt he is a top-line NFL starter. But his ability to remain healthy has always been the only question with him.
Since entering the NFL in 2014 as a first-round draft pick of the Chargers, Verrett has appeared in only 40 games.
He started and played in 13 games for the 49ers in 2020, and entered last year as one of the more important players on the team. After all, the 49ers did not have much depth at cornerback, and they needed Verrett to stay on the field.
The 49ers are set up much better at cornerback this year after the free-agent addition of Charvarius Ward from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Verrett joins Ward and the 49ers’ pair of starting cornerbacks to end the season, Emmanuel Moseley and Ambry Thomas. The 49ers added two more cornerbacks in the draft with the Day 3 selections of Toledo’s Sam Womack and Penn State’s Tariq Castro-Fields.
Verrett sustained a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of the 49ers’ season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 12. He broke down in tears as he was carted to the 49ers’ locker room at Ford Field. General manager John Lynch, clearly distraught as well, was with him to offer support.
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The 49ers can take their time this offseason and during training camp to give Verrett his best chance at returning healthy and remaining healthy. Verrett could surely be a starter. But he could also provide the 49ers with a backup who might even rate as an upgrade if pressed into service.
A year ago, Verrett was clearly one of the team’s most-important players to open the season because of the team’s lack of depth at his position. They were counting on him to take care of business on his side of the field with minimal help.
The fact the 49ers have more talent at cornerback allows them the luxury of giving Verrett one more opportunity.
