Jason Verrett enjoyed dipping his toes into the free-agency waters. The veteran cornerback ended up re-signing with the San Francisco 49ers on a one-year deal, but it wasn't due to a lack of interest from other teams. He opted to bet on himself again, as he did last offseason, and prove to skeptics that he can stay healthy while playing at a high level.
It also feels good to stay with something familiar.
"[Free agency] was a good experience," Verrett told reporters via Zoom on Monday. "It always feels good to be wanted, but my heart was always with San Fran. I love the comradely we've got with the team, the coaches, staff, training staff, the amazing fans, the whole nine yards. I was happy that we [were] able to get a deal done, and I'm just excited to see what we do this year."
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Verrett had a multi-year offer from another team on the table. He opted for the one-year deal from the team that put its faith in him over the past two years. That faith paid off in 2020. The cornerback played at a high level and was able to stay on the field despite the rest of the roster being devasted by injuries.
Verrett ended up starting 13 games last season, recording 60 tackles, two tackles for a loss, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed. He finished the season as Pro Football Focus' 12th-highest-graded cornerback. Opposing quarterbacks owned a 76.3 passer rating when targeting the defender.
"It was a lot of things that were factoring in (the decision)," Verrett shared. "I definitely was excited to pull off a one-year (deal), just to be able to show the things that I can do (in) back-to-back seasons. I think it was beneficial for me just to be able to showcase that I can do it due to the fact of me being injured for the previous years.
"We worked out a deal that was best on both sides, and I'm just excited to go out there and do it again."
That eagerness includes the opportunity to face the tough competition of the NFC West, which has quickly become one of football's best divisions. It's a great place for the defender to show off his ability.
"I think it was meant to be for me to come back," Verrett said. "It's another way where I can go out there and dominate, be the best guy that I can be for the team, going against some of the top guys in the league ... I'm excited for it. The more competition we can have in our division, it's going to be better off for us as players."
Verrett wasn't the only defensive back to re-sign with San Francisco. It seemed like the defense would see a mass exodus in the backfield, but team brass also managed to lock up slot cornerback K'Waun Williams and safety Jaquiski Tartt. He is excited to be reunited with his teammates.
"K'Waun, Tartt, Jimmie Ward, we all kept in touch throughout the entire process," Verrett added. "We all wanted to have another shot at it, just because we know what we can do when we're all out there on the field together. Being able to get everybody back, we're excited to see the things that we can do."
