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The 49ers needed a corner. They’re getting a corner. After the devastating loss of Jason Verrett to a torn ACL for the remainder of the season, with Emmanuel Moseley’s status still in question for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and with Josh Norman still not quite up to full speed, the 49ers had to sign someone.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on KNBR Monday morning that one likely, immediate candidate, was former Cardinals corner Dre Kirkpatrick, who worked out for the 49ers earlier this season, but who Rapoport said was unvaccinated. He’s since been vaccinated, and Rapoport reports that he’ll sign for the 49ers, who are spending this week in West Virginia.
The #49ers are finalizing a deal for veteran CB Dre Kirkpatrick, source said, some starting experience following the injury to Jason Verrett. Kirkpatrick, who most recently played for the #AZCardinals worked out for SF recently and impressed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 13, 2021
Kirkpatrick was a former 17th overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals back in 2012. While Pro Football Focus is not the end-all, be-all of football analysis by any stretch, Kirkpatrick has graded out pretty consistently as average or poor in coverage, with last year his worst coverage and overall season of his career. He’s been graded as a poor tackler in every season but his rookie career.
The grades are below. Rapoport also said that, as Kyle Shanahan mentioned postgame on Sunday, the 49ers have had discussions with Richard Sherman about potentially returning and that Sherman is not expected to end up on the commissioner’s exempt list stemming from his arrest this offseason.
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