49ers Mailbag: How will the team replace Ahkello Witherspoon?

An oddity in the schedule has the 49ers with an early bye during Week 4, so we’re back with the latest installment of our weekly mailbag, focused on sifting through the options to replace a prominent player on defense who’s out with an injury.

To your questions!

Chris Fisher asks: Now that we know Ahkello Witherspoon will be out at least a month, what’s the plan opposite of Richard Sherman? Jason Verrett getting beat a couple of times was concerning.

Kyle Shanahan said Monday second-year pro Emmanuel Moseley is going to get the first shot in practice following Witherspoon’s foot injury. Moseley replaced Verrett after the veteran got burned on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter Sunday.

But Shanahan also noted the decision will come down to who performs the best at practice. One thing to keep in mind: the coaching staff adores Jimmie Ward and has brought up his ability to play any position in the secondary as a key reason he was re-signed in the offseason.

Ward at Tuesday’s practice ditched that awkward cast protecting his surgically repaired right ring finger and seemed likely to be healthy when the team returns from its upcoming bye. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the club stick with the status quo with Tarvarius Moore at free safety and try Ward at cornerback rather than have him replace Moore.

After all, the 49ers defense ranks second in the NFL in yardage to this point, albeit against teams that are 1-8 combined through three weeks. But it might make sense to have Ward replace Witherspoon so the team is only changing one position in the secondary, rather than two by plugging Ward back at free safety.

@B_77111 asks: Do you think the Rams vs. 49ers Week 6 game gets flexed to Sunday Night Football?

There’s a decent chance. The league makes those decisions 12 days before the game, so it would come by Oct. 1. The Rams should be 4-0 after hosting the Buccaneers on Sunday, which will certainly be factored in.

The game currently in the prime time NBC slot is the Steelers (0-3) on the road against the Chargers (1-2). Pittsburgh is hosting the upcoming Monday night game against the Bengals, which will force the league to decide if they want Mason Rudolph headlining a prime time game for the second time in three weeks.

The other came that might be enticing to flex into prime time is the Patrick Mahomes versus Deshaun Watson bowl, with Houston traveling to Kansas City. The problem: the Chiefs play the NBC game the week prior against the Colts. It would seem unlikely the league puts the Chiefs in that slot in consecutive weeks.

Suffice to say, if you have plans to travel to L.A. to watch the 49ers play the Rams, you might want to make sure you have a Monday flight back to Northern California rather than flying Sunday night.

Tai asks: With receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and then the trio of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and Brandin Cooks coming up, do you see 49ers making a major move at cornerback?

I do not. Teams typically wait until closer to the trade deadline to deal away their key players. It allows the market to get more competitive as teams with playoffs aspirations get more desperate. And the 49ers aren’t in a position to bring in another big salary with contract extensions for DeForest Buckner and George Kittle looming, particularly at the cost of valuable draft capital.

Would the 49ers be interested in trading for a veteran such as Chris Harris Jr.? I think they would, at the right price. But there hasn’t been any indication the Broncos would be willing to part with one of the best players in their secondary even while Harris is in the final year of his contract.

The coaching staff likes Moseley, who has played very well on special teams in the early going, and aren’t going to give up on Verrett, who hasn’t had a chance to knock the rust off after going more than two calendar years since appearing in a game.

Could this change if the 49ers cornerbacks get torched against Cleveland following the bye? Of course. For now, the 49ers seem more likely to see what they have before making a big trade.

Jason asks: How much time does CBA mandate players get off for the bye week? Do coaches get any extra days off?

Players are supposed get four consecutive days off, per the CBA. The 49ers had a light practice Tuesday and will get the rest of the week off. Some players are flying home to other parts of the country, others are sticking around to continue working out or get treatment.

Shanahan said there’s a chance the team will have a pair of practices Monday and Tuesday of next week before resuming the normal practice schedule Thursday ahead of the game Monday night. The goal is to stay sharp after the team struggled coming out of the bye last season when the 49ers lost to Tampa Bay, 27-9, after the Week 11 bye.

Freddy asks: What will the 49ers do when Tevin Colemon comes back? Will they have four running backs active?

I don’t know. That’s one of the interesting details to pay attention to next week.

Shanahan said Monday Coleman can do similar things in short yardage as Jeff Wilson Jr., who scored four touchdowns over the past two weeks. Coleman, of course, has scored 28 touchdowns over the past three seasons and was brought in to help improve the red zone offense.

Coleman is also more sure-handed than Raheem Mostert. He’s fumbled seven times on 628 career touches. That’s once every 90 touches or so. Mostert is coming off a two-fumble game against Pittsburgh and during his career fumbled four times on 85 touches (roughly once per 21).

So it would make sense to try and get Coleman back into action even while the 49ers have run the ball effectively the past two games.

But dressing four halfbacks on game days might be difficult given the injury situation in the secondary. Ward seems likely to be active coming off his finger injury, as could rookie receiver Jalen Hurd following his back injury. The 49ers would have to go light at another position to keep four halfbacks.