A familiar face returned to the SAP Performance Facility on Wednesday afternoon as the San Francisco 49ers opened up practice for Week 15. Veteran cornerback Jason Verrett, who was officially signed to the 49ers practice squad on Monday, was wearing jersey No. 22 and working in with the rest of San Francisco's defensive backs.
Verrett was originally signed as a free agent in 2019 and appeared in 15 games over the course of the last four seasons. He recorded 65 tackles, seven passes defensed and two interceptions in a red and gold uniform.
"I'm just excited to be back," Verrett said ahead of his first workout. "I missed all the guys. I'm just ready to get them on this run.
"I'm just trying to be myself and adapt to everything that they're doing right now. I'm not trying to do anything too crazy, just try to be myself as much as I can."
Verrett has worked through back-to-back season-ending injuries, tearing his ACL at the start of the 2021 season and then suffering a torn Achilles tendon in the fall of 2022. He had a brief stint on the Houston Texans practice squad from mid-October to mid-November, marking his reintroduction to the NFL since going through a long physical recovery process.
"(That month in Houston) was a way I could get reps," Verrett said. "My heart was always wanting to be here. Fast forward to now, I'm just happy that it worked out."
Entering Week 15, depth in the secondary is of the utmost importance as San Francisco continues its push to the playoffs amidst a slew of injuries to several defensive backs. All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga suffered an ACL tear in Week 11 and CB1, Charvarius Ward, is battling a groin injury he sustained on the first series of the 49ers Week 14 game versus the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco has since added two-time Super Bowl champion Logan Ryan to the 53-man roster and brought in cornerback Kemon Hall and safety Erik Harris to the practice squad.
All in all, Verrett has been impressed from what he's seen out of the 49ers defensive backs.
"Deommodore Lenoir and Mooney Ward, and some of the other guys are all playing great," Verrett said. "Mooney, he really took his game to another level, as well as De-Mo, seeing him when he was a rookie back in 2021. I see the growth in the way that they've played. I'm excited to see the young guys do what they do."
