49ers Cut Cornerback, Former First-Round Draft Selection: Report

Dre Kirkpatrick 49ers

Getty Former 49ers cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick.

Dre Kirkpatrick was originally brought in by the San Francisco 49ers on September 14 following the devastating season-ending ACL injury to Jason Verrett.

Now, the former 2012 Cincinnati Bengals first-rounder will be replaced by another cornerback in the latest roster move involving the Niners.

The 49ers waived the 32-year-old Kirkpatrick on Tuesday, November 16, with the team announcing the move on Twitter at 2:15 p.m. PT.


Kirkpatrick’s Short Stint With the Niners

The Kirkpatrick experiment only last four games total for San Francisco.

According to Pro Football Reference, the 6-foot-2 Kirkpatrick only produced seven tackles including six solo stops. He also had just one tackle for a loss.

Kirkpatrick took his most snaps against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 — 56 total per Pro Football Focus and produced two solo tackles.

In coverage, he was tested four times versus the ‘Hawks and surrendered three catches for 19 yards. Kirkpatrick, though, gave up two catches of 25 and 28 yards — the latter on the Michael Pittman II fourth-quarter touchdown that sealed the win for the Indianapolis Colts.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back, who helped give Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban his first two national titles, saw his final action with the 49ers in Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals. In that game, Kirkpatrick was on the field for 36 snaps in the 31-17 defeat.

Kirkpatrick did not record any stats in the 31-10 rout of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football on November 15.


Who Remains in the Niners’ CB Room

Four cornerbacks saw action against the Rams with Kirkpatrick not in the lineup.

Emmanuel Mosby and Josh Norman manned down the left and right cornerback spots, respectively, as they took on a high-octane Rams offense that not only brought with them the league’s only 1,000-yard reason by Week 10 Cooper Kupp, but also debuted new wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was signed after being waived by the Cleveland Browns.

How did both starters fare? Mosby was targeted eight times but allowed five catches for 57 yards. He did, however, hold Kupp to just one catch that was below 10 yards when he was locked onto the league-leading wideout.

Meanwhile, Norman — battling through bad ribs — saw six Matthew Stafford footballs thrown his way. The veteran surrendered four catches for 74 yards. Kupp’s largest gain of 29 yards came with Norman as the nearest cover cornerback.

K’Waun Williams became the most picked on 49ers cornerback — targeted 12 times and allowing 11 catches his side for 73 yards and surrendering two first-down receptions. Kupp caught seven of his 11 catches when lined up on Williams. The good news for Williams? No touchdown passes his side.

Also, the 49ers did have rookies Ambry Thomas and Deommodore Lenoir in full pads for the Rams game. Thomas was on the field for one defensive play but took 11 special teams snaps on punt return, kickoff coverage team and field goal block per PFF. Lenoir had eight plays on special teams — six on the kickoff team and two on the kick return unit.

The decision to move on from Kirkpatrick could be a sign of increased action for the rookie corners, who got early action at the beginning of the year.

For Kirkpatrick, he will now be searching for his fourth NFL home since the 2019 season with stops in Cincinnati, Arizona in 2020 and now San Francisco.

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