On Friday, the San Francisco 49ers and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley agreed to a two-year contract worth up to $10.1 million, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
Moseley was set to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins on March 17, however, his new deal was much more than he likely would have found on the open market.
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The Niners’ Cornerback Outlook
Moseley, who will turn 25 years old on March 25, joined the Niners as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Tennessee in 2018. From there, he battled his way into a key starting role.
Over the past two seasons, Moseley has started 17 games after first taking over as the starter for impending free agent Ahkello Witherspoon during the 2019 NFC Divisional round ahead of the team’s Super Bowl LIV run. Moseley has seen the field in 29 total games to date, recording 98 combined tackles, 17 pass breakups and two interceptions — one in each of the last two years.
Based on his payday, the 5-foot-11, 184-pounder versatile cover man should play a major role in defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ defensive unit this year. Barring other major additions, Moseley figures to slide into one of the two starting outside cornerback spots, although he’s capable of playing inside as well.
With Moseley locked into a new deal, the 49ers now have five cornerbacks under contract for the 2021 season, including Ken Webster, Adonis Alexander, Mark Fields II, and Tim Harris Jr. Along with Witherspoon, San Francisco also has decisions to make on the futures of former starters Richard Sherman and Jason Verrett, K’Waun Williams, Dontae Johnson and Jamar Taylor in the days to come.
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George Kittle & Raheem Mostert React to Moseley Signing
While the 49ers have yet to officially announce the deal themselves, they earned approval from two of their star players on the other side of the ball, tight end George Kittle and running back Raheem Mostert.
Shortly after Moseley confirmed the news via a quote tweet reading, “blessed and happy to be back,” Kittle responded, “Let’s go E Man!!!”
Mostert also quote tweeted Schefter’s tweet with, “Yessir!! Congrats my brotha!”
Fellow defensive back Jimmie Ward and wideout Deebo Samuel also posted congratulatory messages on Instagram.
49ers Make Additional Roster Moves
The 49ers made some other moves on Friday, tendering exclusive rights free agent offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill to a one-year contract and releasing soon-to-be unrestricted free agent defensive end Ronald Blair.
Brunskill will get another shot at winning the starting spot at right guard or center. As a rookie in 2019, Brunskill appeared in 14 games with seven starts, filling in at right tackle for Mike McGlinchey, left tackle for Joe Staley and at right guard for Mike Person.
Last season, Brunskill earned the starting right guard job, playing all 16 games. However, injuries plagued the offensive line and Brunskill later kicked inside to center.
As for Blair, the 28-year-old suffered a torn ACL in Week 10 of the 2019 campaign and didn’t play at all in 2020. Blair will now be free to negotiate with other teams next week. The former 2016 fifth-round pick racked up 13.5 sacks in 47 games as a Niner and posted 88 total tackles, including 22 for a loss.
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Raheem Mostert, George Kittle Approve of 49ers’ New Signing