Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
Is it time to panic with several key defensive backs going to hit free agency? The 49ers could be looking at a completely redesigned secondary this season.
Of all the key positions on the 49ers roster, the secondary remains the biggest concern. Essentially, the full depth map is in the air with Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, K’Waun Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon and Jaquiski Tartt looking to become free agents. 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley was a limited free agent, but just signed one two-year deal for $ 10 million, while Marcell Harris did resigned for a year. The only starter to remain under contract is Jimmie Ward, the 49ers free safety.
49ers’ Secondary 2021 Free Agents
- Richard Sherman – UFA
- Jaquiski Tartt – UFA
- K’Waun Williams – UFA
- Jason Verrett – UFA
- Ahkello Witherspoon – UFA
- Dontae Johnson – UFA
- Jamar Taylor – UFA
- Emmanuel Moseley – RFA
- Marcell Harris – RFA
First Outlook
As it stands now, the 49ers have Moseley and Ward leading the group with many questions behind them.
Moseley is a cornerback that is versatile enough to play both outdoors and indoors, giving the 49ers a number of options on how they want to approach the off-season. Outside of Moseley, there are four unproven cornerbacks on the roster: Tim Harris, Mark Fields, Adonis Alexander and Ken Webster.
Ward was the free start for the 49ers last year, but can play both safety spots. Would it make sense to promote Tarvarius Moore to free security and push Ward to strong security?
The reason I am suggesting these possible changes is merely the fact that it will be difficult to renew the secondary in an off-season. The 49ers have the great task of adding players with starting experience and / or youthful perks to develop this coming season. Their free agency choices could be limited as the 49ers re-sign Trent Williams for a potentially massive extension. The 49ers have plenty of capital this year, but it’s usually a steep learning curve to develop defensive backs. Ideally, the 49ers would want to keep their own free agents, but that seems unlikely – unless a tough market allows the 49ers to re-sign them at reasonable deals.
Free agency
As noted earlier, the 49ers’ approach to adding pieces in the secondary league largely depends on whether they keep their biggest free agent in the tackle Trent Williams. From the current group of 49ers-free agents, it would be great if they can keep K’Waun Williams to continue his role at Nickel Back. Williams is one of the more underrated players in the league in a premium position. Based on his previous comments, it is unlikely that Richard Sherman will be back in a 49ers uniform. A combination of injuries and inconsistencies has likely run its course for Tartt and Witherspoon.
Sticking Jason Verrett to a two-year contract at a reasonable price could be a win-win for both parties; I’m not sure other teams are willing to continue bidding on his services given his injury concerns.
The 49ers typically don’t spend much on defensive backs, with a greater emphasis on the defensive line to set the tone for the secondary. I would expect the 49ers to go bargain hunting in the second wave of free agencies after bigger names of free agents like the Seahawks ‘Shaquill Griffin and the Bengal’ William Jackson disappear from the board.
Perhaps the 49ers are targeting veteran-free agents on one-year deals, while rounding out the secondary with preliminary prospects to contribute later in the year. Outside corners like the Colts’ Xavier Rhodes, the Packers’ Kevin King and the Rams’ Troy Hill come to mind. There also appears to be a large surplus of slot cornerbacks, such as the Eagles’ Nickell Robey-Coleman, the Lions’ Justin Coleman and the Titans’ Desmond King. It may be optimistic, but the Raiders’ Lamarcus Joyner, the Jets’ Bradley McDougald, and the Colts’ Malik Hooker all fit the safety well.
Drought
The 49ers enter the NFL draft with 10 draft picks, notably with seven of those on Day 3 – including three fifth-round picks. As mentioned before, the 49ers don’t usually spend much on the secondary through free agency so I would expect the 49ers front office to be proactive in this concept. Maybe trade in to get its boys, but given the 49ers’ strong need to reset their depth, I wouldn’t be surprised if they design 3-4 defensive backs to complete the group.
General outlook
The 49ers’ defense philosophy has always prioritized the front seven over the secondary, but that doesn’t mean the team can get by with insufficient talent – see last season against the Miami Dolphins with Brian AllenThey will have to find a good mix of savvy veterans and new prospects to get their secondary to a respectable level; keeping a few of their own free agents could aid the stability efforts in the system. Depending on how the 49ers play their off-season cards, the secondary could potentially be the Achilles heel for their defense.
- Justin Wong
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Written by:
Justin Wong has been writing for the 49ers Webzone since 2017 and also has an NFC West blog and podcast called Just The West. Feel free to follow him or direct your questions to @JustTheWest on Twitter.
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
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