If Ahkello Witherspoon is in his last days as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, at least he seems to be set to go out with a bang instead of a whimper.
Now in the fourth and final season of his rookie contract with the 49ers after being selected by the team in Round 3 of the 2017 NFL Draft, Witherspoon's topsy-turvy stay in the Bay Area looked almost certain, as of a few weeks ago, to be coming to an end. He began his time with the 49ers as a promising rookie who seemed to be well on his way towards becoming a long-term starter at cornerback. But injuries and inconsistencies plagued him over the next two seasons to the point where he began to take a back seat to other players.
Then, earlier this season, Witherspoon was relegated to mostly a special teams role and later became a healthy scratch for three games before injuries to other players opened the door for him to get back on the field on defense. He's taken that opportunity and run with it so far, as he was one of the team's highest-graded players by Pro Football Focus in the Week 15 loss at Dallas and followed that up with a solid showing in the 20-12 Week 16 win at Arizona that included a pivotal, drive-killing fourth-quarter interception in the end zone.
How about that @49ers defense?! #FTTB
📺 + 📱: #SFvsAZ on @SportsOnPrimehttps://t.co/maHpnF6lzS pic.twitter.com/knYvZzkrJT
— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2020
Witherspoon also had seven tackles in the win over the Cardinals and won the approval of head coach Kyle Shanahan after the game.
"The ups and downs Ahkello's been through this year and the way he's been playing the last two weeks, the way he played today, says a lot about the guy," Shanahan said.
Witherspoon has impressed Shanahan with the way he's dealt with adversity. He didn't pout over his lack of playing time, choosing instead to approach the coaches and ask what he needed to do to get better. Witherspoon began to show improvement at practice and in the weight room throughout the season, and along the way, he regained the trust of the staff and paved the way for himself to see more playing time.
"That's what made us start believing again. Ahkello's done some real good things this year and he started out a tough way, Shanahan said. "What he started doing at practice, on scout team and workouts, it got him to this moment... Because of the way he handled himself when adversity struck, that's why he was ready for this opportunity. He helped us last week, helped us big-time win a game today. That'll help him in his career too."
Witherspoon actually seems to view 2020 as a blessing in disguise. He told reporters after the win over the Cardinals that he's been able to focus solely on himself this year, and as a result, it's helped his game overall.
"I think I've kind of been blessed coming off the injuries that I had last year," Witherspoon said. "This year gave me a lot of time to really work on myself and get better and try to get back to what I was before I got injured, and that's kind of my biggest focus. It's just worked for me in terms of focusing on getting better and not worrying about being inactive and not starting."
Has Witherspoon done enough this season to make the 49ers want to keep him around for at least one more year? The answer to that question doesn't seem to be as clear cut as it might have been a few weeks ago. Regardless of where he winds up in 2021, it seems Witherspoon at least is making the last days of 2020 into a springboard for better days to come.
"The biggest thing for me was just to stay steadfast and stay strong," Witherspoon said. "It hasn't been easy, but I just have a deep belief that if you continue to work, continue to grind, the favor will be returned. I've been reaping the benefits these past two weeks, and I'll just take that same mindset and continue to build on it."
