49ers’ Jason Verrett suffers sixth season-ending injury of his career

For the sixth time in his eight-season NFL career, 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett has suffered a season-ending injury. 

Verrett, who was called up from the Niners’ practice squad on Christmas, tore his rotator cuff on Thursday when he landed on his shoulder after jumping for a ball, according to coach Kyle Shanahan. The 32-year-old was expected to play Sunday’s season finale against the Rams.

“He was hoping not to get an MRI,” Shanahan told reporters Friday. “He slept on it and came in this morning and was still hurting. [The MRI] showed he had a tear and needed surgery.”

Signing with the 49ers in 2019 was supposed to open a new chapter for his career, but it ultimately brought more of the same misfortune. He was placed on injured reserve for an ankle injury after appearing in one game in 2019 and missed the Niners’ Super Bowl run that season. After a bounce back in 2020 with two interceptions, he tore his ACL in the first game of the season in 2021. His comeback in 2022 fell short after he tore his Achilles for the second time in his career just two weeks after he was activated for a return. This string of injuries has limited him to playing just 41 games since 2014.

If there’s any silver lining in all of this, it’s that Verrett’s teammates hold him in high regard. When he signed with the Niners’ practice squad on Dec. 11, players were buzzing about his presence in the locker room. Star defensive end Nick Bosa called him “an inspiration to us all” and “a special guy.” Starting cornerback Deommodore Lenoir declared, “We got our big brother back.” Shanahan even said he hopes Verrett remains around the facilities this season as the cornerback recovers.

It’s up to Verrett to decide what he does in the wake of this latest setback to his career. But whatever he ends up deciding to do, one thing is clear: He’ll have plenty of support behind him.