After adding veteran NFL cornerback Jason Verrett to the practice squad this week, the San Francisco 49ers welcomed him back to the locker room on Wednesday. Verrett hasn’t been available for the team in over a year. He claimed that he didn’t feel like he had missed a beat.
It says so much, dude. Regarding his greeting, Verrett stated on Wednesday, “It speaks volumes to everybody here.” “How everyone feels about me, from the top to the bottom of this organization.” All I’m trying to do is give the same enthusiasm back. I’m glad to be back, man. I’ve missed you guys so much. All I have to do is assist them in starting this run.
However, it may still be early to tell how Verrett may benefit the 49ers at this stage.With a string of injuries that has already cost the team safeties Talanoa Hufanga and George Odum and left them without Charvarius Ward (groin) out, he will provide support to a secondary that is struggling.
When the 49ers play the Cardinals in Week 15, they may be facing a relatively youthful team, led by fellow third-year player Deommodore Lenoir and third-year man Ambry Thomas.Even though Verrett isn’t expected to play, he still thinks he may be of assistance to his inexperienced colleagues.
The way Mooney (Ward) and D-Mo are playing there, in my opinion, speaks volumes about the group they have. I’m glad I can be here to mentor them and help them improve even more. However, Verrett remarked, “Those two guys are playing fantastically.”
Jason Verrett Beloved on 49ers
Kyle Shanahan, the coach of the 49ers, wants Jason Verrett back on the club because of his institutional knowledge of both the squad and the NFL. He was a member of the 49ers from 2019 to 21; however, a string of ailments kept him to just 15 games over those three years. However, coaches and teammates were impressed by his work ethic, attitude, and approach.
In his second season (2015), Verrett was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Chargers prior to joining the 49ers. Then the wounds began. It was first his ACL in 2016. In 2017, there was yet another knee surgery. On the first day of training camp in 2018, he sustained a torn Achilles tendon.
He had a serious ankle injury in the 49ers season opener in 2019. After tearing his ACL in the first game of 2021, he played 13 games in 2020 but hasn’t played since. November 2022 was supposed to be his debut month, but he tore his Achilles tendon once more.
JV Never Considered Retirement
Despite all of that, Jason Verrett said he never considered retiring, even at age 32.
He remarked, “Just been my journey.” “Man, it’s been a battle. I always have a will to fight through things. I’ve encountered a lot of challenges, but I meet them head-on without any concern. All I can say is that I’m glad to be in this organization because it still has faith in me after everything I’ve been through.
When Verrett started working out for the club a month ago, it was evident that the team had faith in him. He had seven old colleagues who stayed late to watch and encourage him during his training.
That stuck with Jason Verrett.
“My relationship with the guys who stayed and watched me work out goes beyond simply using the locker room,” he remarked. “Our relationships go beyond this. It simply illustrates how much I mean to them and how much they matter to me that they watched me, so I was really fortunate and blessed to have them do so.
Veteran sports writer Sean Deveney works for Heavy.com, covering the NBA and NFL. With over 20 years of NBA coverage experience, including 17 years as the lead NBA correspondent for Sporting News, he has been writing for Heavy since 2019. A writer of seven nonfiction books, Deveney is the author of “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.”Additional details regarding Sean Deveney
