On Friday, Kyle Shanahan announced that cornerback Jason Verrett suffered a rotator cuff injury that will require surgery, effectively ending his season and short stint with the 49ers. The veteran corner suffered the injury in Thursday's practice in preparation for the team's Week 18 game vs Rams in which he was expected to see a lot of playing time. Wanting to shore up their secondary depth, Verrett was signed to the 49ers practice squad on December 11th. He quickly re-claimed his "big brother" status to the players in the locker room.
Despite losing a veteran voice, Verrett's injury now puts pressure on the 49ers starting corners, Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, and Ambry Thomas to remain healthy for the 49ers' playoff run. The trio has been having a successful season, evidenced by all three being in the Top 30 of PFF's coverage grades (among corners with at least 50% of their team's coverage snaps). But they are now just one injury away from a struggling Isaiah Oliver, a largely inexperienced Samuel Womack III or rookie Darrell Luter Jr from entering a game. All three should see a healthy number of snaps in Sunday's "meaningless" regular season finale but the 49ers would rather not have to turn to any of them during the playoffs. In any case, Sunday should provide the team with more insight into what they truly have with Oliver, Womack, and Luter Jr.
Isaiah Oliver was the team's starting nickel to start the season, though out of the bye week, he was benched in favor of Ambry Thomas. He is also considered the team's emergency safety, another thinning position in the secondary.
Samuel Womack seemingly doesn't have the level of trust from his coaches that he maybe once had as a rookie. He's been buried in the depth chart, often getting special teams snaps. Early in his career, he was projected as a nickel corner, but all of his 26 defensive snaps this season have been on the outside.
Darrell Luter Jr, the 49ers 5th round pick of the 2023 NFL draft, spent the first half of his rookie season on the PUP list. Since being activated to the 53-man roster he has played 20 snaps, all at outside corner. Lauded for his maturity and athleticism by 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters, Luter Jr. was seen as a player that can play right away. That type of compliment is enough to add intrigue.