In a nightmare of a season, cornerback Jason Verrett has been a pleasant surprise for the San Francisco 49ers. Some questioned the team's decision to keep the oft-injured defensive back on the roster. Heading into Week 10, he is playing like one of the best cornerbacks in the game.
Pro Football Focus ranks Verrett as the fourth-best cornerback in the league. When Richard Sherman finds his way back from a calf injury, San Francisco will probably have to find a way to keep Verrett on the field at the same time.
ESPN believes that Verrett has played so superbly that he deserves to be in the conversation for Comeback Player of the Year.
"After playing just 67 defensive snaps total since the start of the 2017 season," wrote ESPN via a feature from Pro Football Focus. "Verrett has found himself in a prominent role in San Francisco with the injury to Richard Sherman, and he has run with it. His coverage grade of 77.6 ranks sixth at the cornerback position, allowing just 141 yards in 228 coverage snaps. It seemed unlikely Verrett would ever get back on the field as a starter -- let alone be a good one -- but here he is."
So what is next for the injury-ravaged 49ers roster? Sitting at 4-5, how many of the seven remaining games can the team possibly win? ESPN says just two. Although, it doesn't say which two. Two NFC East teams remain on the schedule, though.
Beat writer Nick Wagoner was asked to predict San Francisco's final record.
"6-10," he responded. "Finding many more wins for the 49ers as currently constructed is a difficult exercise given that five of their seven remaining games are against teams with winning records and playoff aspirations. At some point, the Niners will get some key players back from injury, but probably not enough to push them back into playoff contention."
Before the season, no one could have foreseen this for the 49ers. Injuries and a run-in with COVID-19 issues last week have seemingly destroyed what was to be a promising season. San Francisco has $80.8 million worth of salary-cap space on injured reserve, according to ESPN Stats & Information.