49ers news: Buster Skrine intended to help dwindling cornerback crop

The latest from the 49ers news wire reveals the team intends to sign veteran corner Buster Skrine to alleviate more injury attrition.

While it might not be quite as bad as 2020, at least not yet, the San Francisco 49ers news cycle this season has already revealed more injuries than head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. would preferably like to have at this point.

Entering 2021, the Niners’ cornerback crop was already questionable and largely hinging on another fully healthy season from No. 1 corner Jason Verrett, who finds himself out for the year with a torn ACL.

Adding insult to injury, or maybe the other way around, San Francisco also lost two additional corners during its Week 3 Sunday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers, Josh Norman to a chest injury and K’Waun Williams to a calf injury.

Norman could be available in Week 4, yet Williams is expected to miss a few weeks, putting even more pressure on the team’s cornerback crop so early in the year.

Reports state 49ers will sign Buster Skrine

Norman was one late addition just before the regular season began, while the 49ers also signed another veteran, Dre Kirkpatrick, to help alleviate the growing attrition and take away pressure on fifth-round rookie, Deommodore Lenoir, who has been tasked with assuming quite a large role already.

According to SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan, the Niners are planning on signing 32-year-old veteran nickel cornerback Buster Skrine:

Skrine, a fifth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns back in 2011, spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Bears where he appeared in 28 games during that two-year stretch, logging 114 tackles and eight passes defended during his time there.

He was credited with allowing 50 catches on 64 pass attempts last season for 507 yards.

49ers news on K’Waun Williams isn’t bad but could be problematic

It’s anyone’s guess whether or not Skrine will be a long-term option for San Francisco this season.

Williams, 30 years old, is quietly one of the NFL’s top nickel cornerbacks. Last year, however, he dealt with a slew of injuries that ultimately forced him to miss all but eight games before re-signing with the 49ers on a one-year deal during the offseason.

Read More: The curious case of the Niners’ cornerback situation

Maybe the Niners are viewing Skrine as a better insurance policy to guard against Williams’ health, especially considering they haven’t received much of anything from third-round rookie cornerback Ambry Thomas, who struggled in training camp and in Week 1 before being relegated to the ranks of the inactives the past two weeks.

Considering the attrition already suffered at the position, along with the lack of other plausible options, it’s possible San Francisco wants Skrine to hang around for a while.

And it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if further 49ers news on Williams suggests a cautionary approach, potentially giving Skrine more chances to make an impact.

One can only hope they’re successful, though.