The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2022 season with one of the deepest rosters in the NFL. That's why, even with an inexperienced quarterback at the helm of the offense, most expected a return to the playoffs for the Bay Area squad.
The 49ers dealt with a historic number of injuries in 2020, which was reflected in the team's record. After playing the Carolina Panthers on the Bank of America Stadium turf in Charlotte, San Francisco is dealing with another slew of injuries. The team lost starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley for the season to a torn ACL. Star defensive end Nick Bosa is dealing with a groin injury. In his first game back from injured reserve, safety Jimmie Ward broke his hand on the opening kickoff.
Even the 49ers' kicker, Robbie Gould, was added to the injury list. He suffered a left knee contusion.
Moseley is the tough one, though. The veteran cornerback was playing at a high level, earning a career-high 70.9 Pro Football Focus grade through his limited sample size of five games. Opposing quarterbacks owned a 63.5 passer rating when targeting Moseley. To put that into perspective, that is even better than the 69.7 passer rating allowed by the high-priced starter opposite him, Charvarius Ward, who has been playing phenomenal football.
San Francisco's depth will be tested this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons. General manager John Lynch believes the team is better equipped in 2022 compared to previous seasons to overcome its losses.
"I think this year, we've been really good on defense," Lynch said on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "I think a large part of that is how strong we've been. We've been strong as a defense for some time. Last year, the number three ranked defense. ... We're rolling pretty good right now, and we should be because we're good at every position, and DeMeco [Ryans] has done a tremendous job.
"But last year, what he accomplished, we just didn't have the manpower at corner last year. We had allocated our resources elsewhere. I think this year, we're much better equipped. You never want to lose a guy like Moseley, but there's a lot of candidates to step up for him."
San Francisco has options. The 49ers haven't tipped their hand regarding Sunday's starter opposite Ward. A pair of second-year cornerbacks gained valuable experience last season and could be called upon to fill in. But they aren't the only options.
"A guy like Deommodore Lenoir is playing at a really high level for us; has been playing some nickel but can play outside as well," Lynch continued. "Ambry Thomas gained valuable playing experience at the end of last year and played at a high level. Sam Womack, Dontae Johnson—so we have candidates within this organization, and I think the depth will be called upon.
"... We can't miss a beat, and that's easy to say, harder to do when you're losing a guy like Moseley, but I think we've got the guys who can do it. And everybody else has got to step their game up a little."
The 49ers also have Jason Verrett returning from last year's ACL injury. The team opened his 21-day practice window last week, and he could be eased into action once activated.
The 49ers and Falcons kick off from Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.