Jason Verrett has had nothing but bad luck since arriving in the NFL as a first-round draft choice. He’s missed more games (89) than he has played (40) in eight seasons because of injuries.
49ers General Manager John Lynch admits he wasn’t certain that Verrett would want to return after tearing an ACL -- again -- in the season opener of the 2021 season. It marked the third season Verrett has played only one game, and he missed the entire 2018 season.
But when Verrett made up his mind to go through another rehab, the 49ers were all for giving the cornerback another opportunity. Verrett signed his fourth consecutive one-year deal with the team.
“We all know what Jason’s been through, and it’s been a lot,” Lynch said on KNBR, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “This guy’s ability and passion for the game, his makeup, his toughness, it’s all to be admired. It hurt our heart. It hurt Jason. He’s a No. 1 corner for us. For it to happen to him yet again was crushing. But he’s a guy you don’t give up on. We’re certainly not going to. It’s a lot to ask for his body to recover again, but if there’s someone that we believe can do it, it’s Jason.
“We felt like, number one, he’s earned that opportunity with us. And number two, I think he’s worth giving it to because he’s done this before. You do have to ask yourself at some point if it keeps happening. But we have a 90-man roster, and during the offseason, when you talk about is he worthy of that? Certainly, he is. So we’re going to give it another attempt.”
The 49ers used two of their nine draft choices on cornerbacks, adding Samuel Womack and Tariq Castro-Fields to an already crowded room that includes Emmanuel Moseley, Ambry Thomas, Deommodore Lenoir and free agent signee Charvarius Ward. So, Verrett is not guaranteed even of making the roster, but the 49ers are giving him another opportunity.
