San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman didn't anticipate any big moves following the injury to starting left tackle Joe Staley. There's no reason to believe Sherman thinks the 49ers will be overly aggressive following the injury to the starting cornerback across from him, Ahkello Witherspoon.
"I think we're good with what we have," Sherman said last week. "We leave it to the front office. I don't make those decisions. But, obviously, they felt comfortable with what we had going into the season. That's why they cut the guys they cut and kept the guys they kept. We're really confident in our guys at every position."
ESPN insider Adam Schefter, who joined KNBR on Thursday morning, doesn't envision the 49ers making a significant move following the injury to Witherspoon. That might be disappointing for the fans hoping general manager John Lynch and company throw their hat into the ring for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The team will likely ride out these injuries.
Staley, at the time of his injury, was expected to miss six to eight weeks with the 49ers hoping for something closer to the former. That's why San Francisco never considered placing its starting left tackle on injured reserve. It would have forced him to miss at least eight weeks.
Witherspoon will miss "at least a month," according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. But the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in Emmanuel Moseley, or "E-Man," as Shanahan calls him. The 49ers could also work in Jason Verrett and find out if the poor performance in his handful of plays against the Pittsburgh Steelers was a fluke or not.
"If you're implying that they're going to go trade for Jalen Ramsey, that would surprise me. I don't see that happening," Schefter said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "I just think the cost on Jalen Ramsey is going to be so high."
Schefter admits that it would be worth exploring a potential trade and making some calls but just can't see the 49ers pulling the trigger on a deal like that.
"For the time being, I think, they're going to have to lean on the guys they have," Schefter continued. "It's not ideal. It's not perfect. You lose Joe Staley, you lose a lot. You lose Witherspoon, you lose a lot. But that's what they're going to have to do right now."
Schefter believes that the good NFL teams are proactive and not reactive, insinuating that maybe that is the case with San Francisco. Shanahan and Lynch have repeatedly stated that they feel more comfortable with the 49ers' depth this year than during their first two seasons with the team.
"It's the first year that we can overcome injuries, and you have to be in that situation," Shanahan said in June. "Everybody's going to get hurt, and you can always get lucky regardless of what happens. We expect to have injuries. That's part of football. But I definitely am a lot more confident going into this year, if that does happen. We have guys who have experience, and we also have guys who have some talent who can step in and help us out."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Schefter below.
