The San Francisco 49ers were mauled by the injury bug a season ago and even as the franchise moves into the 2021 season it appears as if they can't fully shake away from it. On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that two key pieces to the Niners will miss time. An MRI confirmed that cornerback Jason Verrett did, in fact, tear his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, running back Raheem Mostert will go on injured reserve and miss approximately the next eight weeks due to chipped cartilage in his knee.
Both of these injuries occurred in the midst of San Francisco's Week 1 opener against the Detroit Lions. Verrett went down with 7:54 to play in the eventual 41-33 win. Injuries have been a main figure in his NFL story to this point. Prior to playing 13 games in 2020, Verrett landed on IR during his rookie season in 2014 and for four straight seasons from 2016 to 2019.
The Niners are already pretty thin at cornerback, so this injury to Verrett is less than ideal. Shanahan even acknowledged that the team could bring back veteran Richard Sherman to help fill that void in the secondary.
As for Mostert, he exited the game during the 49ers second offensive possession of the game after totaling 20 yards rushing on two carries. In his place, Elijah Mitchell carried the ball 19 times and totaled 104 yards on the ground an a touchdown. Mitchell and rookie Trey Sermon -- who was a healthy scratch for the opener -- will likely be two of the key pieces that'll carry the load in the 49ers backfield with Mostert sidelined.
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