While wide receiver and the defensive line were the main two positions the San Francisco 49ers needed to address ahead of the trade deadline, a more underrated need was cornerback. This is because of the injuries to Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, and Upton Stout.
All these injuries may make them regret waiving Darrell Luter Jr. back in the preseason.
Lenoir had to leave last week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a foot injury, and Green had to leave because of a back injury. Stout has been able to play, but he’s been dealing with a nagging shoulder issue.
There was a thought that those injuries might spur the Niners towards making a trade for a cornerback, but they opted not to. Instead, they brought back Jack Jones on the practice squad who struggled so badly against the Atlanta Falcons that he was cut to make room for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
The injuries to their cornerbacks are not season-ending, so maybe they didn’t feel that a trade was warranted. Lenoir and Green did not participate in Thursday’s practice other than for a walkthrough, while Stout was a limited participant.
If Lenoir and Green cannot go, that would force rookie Ephesians Prysock into a bigger role, and it might force Siran Neal, who is more of a safety and special teams player, into the picture as well, which would be dicey especially since the Niners will be facing a Dallas Cowboys team that has good receivers like CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
49ers may be light on cornerbacks going forward
That’s why they could use someone like Luter right now.
Luter was drafted in the fifth round by San Francisco back in 2023, and while he was never a major factor on defense for the Niners, the fact there were reportedly a number of teams interested in him after he got waived seemed to suggest maybe the 49ers were missing something.
He hasn’t done much since being claimed by the Las Vegas Raiders, so it’s not like he’s become a star or anything. In total, in his NFL career he has 41 combined tackles, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble, so nothing really jumps off the page.
Yet, he was a serviceable depth piece with the Niners, and they could use one of those right about now, given the injury situation with their cornerbacks.
Maybe their starters will be good to go and there is nothing to worry about. But if not, there's a chance the secondary could get shredded.
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