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That’s one cornerback the 49ers won’t be re-signing. After being drafted by the 49ers in the third round of 2017, it became clear last season that Ahkello Witherspoon’s time with the franchise was running out. He was benched for three-straight weeks before having something of a brief redemption and playing well to close out the season.
Now, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Witherspoon is heading to Seattle, where he’ll join former 49ers corner and recent draft pick D.J. Reed in a Seattle secondary which lost Shaquill Griffin to the Jacksonville Jaguars at the start of this week.
I'm told CB Ahkello Witherspoon is going to "Seattle" per source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 16, 2021
Witherspoon’s departure was expected, with the benching and inconsistency throughout his young career clear signals of Kyle Shanahan’s frustration. It was always likely that Witherspoon, along with Richard Sherman, who has said the 49ers will not retain him, would sign elsewhere, which is likely the best thing for his career at this stage.
With both Emmanuel Moseley and Jason Verrett signed, that leaves Sherman, K’Waun Williams and Jaquiski Tartt as the major members of the secondary still available on the market.
