Getty Jason Verrett of the San Francisco 49ers.
After finally being activated off of the Pup list, former San Francisco 49ers starter Jason Verrett’s 2022 NFL season is officially over, as the 31-year-old one-time Pro Bowler has torn his Achilles tendon at practice.
“The team announced today that CB Jason Verrett tore his Achilles tendon in practice yesterday and is out for the season,” the 49ers tweeted out from their official account. “Prayers up for JV.”
A former first-round pick out of TCU all the way back in 2014, Verrett was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015 after a strong season with the then-San Diego Chargers, but from 2016 on, his game was never the same. After tearing his ACL in 2016 after just four games of action, Verrett appeared in just 16 regular season games from 2017-22, with 2020 marking the lone season where he played more than one game. Signed to a one-year, $1.035 million contract, earlier this year, Verrett will enter free agency in March of 2023.
The team announced today that CB Jason Verrett tore his achilles tendon in practice yesterday and is out for the season.
Prayers up for JV ❤️🙏
Jordan Matthews Sends Love to His Fellow IR Member
Though the news of Verrett’s injury is still brand new, some of his teammates, current and former, have begun to issue public statements of support for the injured cornerback. One of those teammates is Jordan Matthews, the former Philadelphia Eagles second-round pick who has been in and out of the Niners’ sphere on and off since 2019.
“I’m asking everyone who sees this to please pray for JV,” Matthews tweeted. “Strongest guy I know.. this one cuts deep.”
Like Verrett, Matthews also spent much of his summer rehabbing from injury after suffering a torn ACL on the practice field in early August. Though his chance of making the roster felt far more dubious than Verrett, as Matthews hasn’t begun a season on an active roster since 2017, a spot on the practice squad felt like far more of a possibility for the hybrid wide receiver/tight end, filling the same sort of role eventually given to Willie Snead IV.
Dontae Johnson Could Be Vital for the San Francisco 49ers
With Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir now fully entrenched as the 49ers’ starting outside cornerbacks moving forward following the injuries suffered by Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley, San Francisco’s cornerback depth is running dangerously thin, with just Ambry Thomas and Samuel Womack left on the active roster. While that depth isn’t great, the team does have a versatile defensive Swiss Army knife on their practice squad in Dontae Johnson, the team’s fourth-round pick out of North Carolina State from 2014, who is currently in his ninth professional season.
Speaking with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area about his expansive career at the end of October, Johnson asserted that while he always stays ready for the next opportunity, his role is to be the best teammate he can be to his fellow 49ers.
“I always show up and am ready when my number is called,” Johnson said. “Until then, I have to wait and play my role. My role is to be a teammate, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
With Verrett now done for the year and a roster spot opening up when he’s placed on season-ending IR, don’t be surprised to see Johnson back on the active roster and potentially on the field before too long, as his versatility could pay volumes down the stretch.
“It’s a blessing,” Johnson said on his versatility. “It’s a blessing to allow me to get to Year 9. I’m grateful for that.”