‘It was everything.’ How Jason Verrett’s long road led back to the 49ers starting lineup

It’s not often a player gets celebrated by his coaches and teammates for simply finishing an NFL game.

But it was a long time coming for San Francisco 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett.

“I was so happy for Jason Verrett. Jason Verrett is a stud,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said after his team thumped the New York Giants, 36-9, a week ago. “I felt like he was going to do a really good job today and he did. Just seeing him after the game and how happy he was — he really earned it. He deserves it. I’m pumped he’s on our team.”

Last week marked the first time Verrett finished a game healthy since he was with the 2016 San Diego Chargers — 1,467 days earlier.

“It was everything for me just being able to be back out there,” Verrett said Friday on Zoom while getting peppered by reporters with questions about his redemption story.

Verrett against the Giants allowed two catches on four targets in coverage, adding a pass breakup and feisty tackle for no gain on receiver Golden Tate. It was part of an overall strong effort from San Francisco’s defense that allowed a miserable 56.6 passer rating to quarterback Daniel Jones.

A Fairfield native, Verrett’s last five seasons have been a long, painful, injury-riddled nightmare, which he has a chance to put further in the rear-view mirror Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Verrett figures to be in the starting lineup while the 49ers deal with injuries to Richard Sherman (calf), Emmanuel Moseley (concussion) and Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring).

To his coaches and teammates, Verrett is a great player who is worth supporting.

“What he’s been through both mentally and physically and what he’s had to go through, the roller coasters, the ups and downs of trying to get back to the football field,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, “I don’t know if there’s a lot of empathy in the world, aside from the people that are in the locker room with him. And to see his grind and what he does and what he stands for, you have an entire organization cheering him on and we love what he’s doing.”

Verrett, the 25th overall pick in 2014 out of TCU by way of Santa Rosa Junior College, tore his ACL after only the fourth game of his third NFL season in 2016. He then aggravated the injury in Week 1 the following year, costing him another full campaign. He arrived for the Chargers conditioning test ahead of training camp in the summer of 2018, but he tore his Achilles’ tendon while simply trying to prove he was in good enough shape to practice.

The irony, of course, was the player who relied on his body to get to the NFL — his 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash was second among all prospects at his combine — couldn’t get on the field. The guy who finished in the 96th percentile among cornerbacks in the 10-yard split, 89th percentile in 40-yard dash, 84th percentile in vertical jump and 90th percentile in three-cone drill was betrayed by his legs.

The 49ers took a flier on Verrett in 2019 offseason after bringing back the majority of the same secondary that struggled the season before. Verrett played well but sprained his ankle early in training camp. He returned for Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and was forced into the game because of a foot injury to Witherspoon. The Steelers immediately started picking on Verrett, getting him to commit a long pass interference and give up a touchdown in a dreary sequence before Verrett was taken out of the game.

Verrett wound up aggravating the ankle injury, and the 49ers decided to put him on season-ending injured reserve even with the prospects he’d be healthy later. Ultimately, the team decided it was best for Verrett’s body to give him the full season off, as he was just over a year removed from his Achilles’ tear. Harsh as it might have been, the decision proved pivotal in Verrett’s decision to rejoin the 49ers this season on a one-year contract.

By all accounts, the time off served Verrett well. The results from the Giants game spoke to that.

“It’s night-and-day different,” Verrett said. “Some people say it takes two full years for the body to fully heal and that’s pretty much just what it was for me. I went through a lot back to back years with ACL and then the Achilles so I really didn’t get the full recovery. So, with this past year, having that and going into the season it was a blessing and good boost for me. So, I like where I’m at now.”

Verrett is one of many 49ers in prominent roles this season who didn’t play much or at all in 2019. The list includes left tackle Trent Williams, running back Jerick McKinnon, tight end Jordan Reed (who injured his knee last week) and quarterback Nick Mullens, who is making his second consecutive start Sunday after appearing in garbage time for a game last season.

There’s a chance Verrett becomes a fixture in the starting lineup if he continues to play well, Shanahan said. He could solve the team’s longstanding question mark at corner opposite Richard Sherman, which remained prominent throughout last season even while the team fielded the NFL’s top ranked passing defense.

If that’s the case, the 49ers faith in Verrett would pay off, despite his laundry list of career-altering leg injuries.

“We took a shot on it last year, it didn’t go great,” Shanahan said. “But we actually got to know the guy and we were really hoping that he’d give us another shot again. So there’s no risk now with us when you’ve got a guy at his ability, a guy who works hard. (You) kind of chalk up to the rest up to God. He puts in all the work he can and it’s either meant to be or not.

“He’s a hell of a player, so I’m glad it’s working out for him right now.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 5:45 PM.