49ers roster: Predicting 2021 cornerback depth chart
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers locked up Emmanuel Moseley for two years, yet the other cornerbacks on the 2021 roster remain in flux. Here are some predictions.
Slowly, the San Francisco 49ers are trying to bolster a unit that could still undergo some significant attrition over the next few weeks as the league’s period of NFL free agency begins.
One of the key moves the Niners executed just before free agency began was to ink fourth-year pro corner Emmanuel Moseley to a two-year deal, preventing him from possibly leaving in 2021 as a restricted free agent.
Smart move. By issuing him a two-year deal worth up to $10.1 million, it’d be cheaper for San Francisco to retain him that way instead of applying a one-year tender on him.
But Moseley is just one cornerback, and the 49ers still have a number of possible voids to fill.
Especially with so many other names about to hit the free-agent market.
Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, K’Waun Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon, Dontae Johnson and Jamar Taylor are all free agents, too, and it’ll be tough for the Niners to retain even some of them. Sherman has already made the case he won’t return, leaving Verrett and Williams as the only other two regular starters from last year’s roster.
It’s possible both of those starters return. But with just over $20 million in cap space, the pressing need to re-sign left tackle Trent Williams and an additional $8 million, approximately, to sign its 2021 rookie class, San Francisco isn’t exactly in a position to spend lucratively.
With all that as a backdrop, Niner Noise takes a pre-free agency stab at predicting how the 49ers’ 2021 cornerback depth chart might look this upcoming season.
Starting off with who’s on the roster right now.