SF 49ers: 5 backups who’ll be starters by end of 2020 season
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Defensive Back Tarvarius Moore
Injuries have to factor in a little bit behind any notion third-year defensive back Tarvarius Moore becomes a regular starter. At safety, his natural position, the SF 49ers already boast two quality starters in Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt.
But Ward has landed on season-ending injured reserve in four of his six pro seasons, while Tartt missed 19 regular-season games the previous three years leading up to 2020.
Yet those numbers aren’t the reason why Moore emerges as a potential starting candidate this season.
Instead, part of the problem lies in injury attrition at cornerback. Richard Sherman, Emmanuel Moseley and K’Waun Williams have all dealt with injuries at the position already this season, Sherman the one so far who has missed significant time. While Jason Verrett has been a nice story early in 2020, his health can’t be something overly considered reliable.
Fortunately, Ward’s history as an uber-defensive back makes him a plausible candidate to step in at cornerback, either in the slot in place of Williams or as a boundary option to guard against Sherman, Moseley and/or Verrett being out for any lengthy period.
Should that be the case, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Moore thrust into a starting role, just as he was at the very beginning of 2019.