49ers' Tarvarius Moore expected to have bounce-back season

2021 was a tough year for 49ers safety Tarvarius Moore. A third-round pick in the 2018 draft, Moore served primarily as a rotational defender and special-teams contributor during his first two years in the league, but he appeared in a career-high 52% of the Niners’ defensive snaps in 2020. He had a real chance to win a starting safety job last summer, which would have been especially fortuitous timing, as he was set to enter his contract year. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn Achilles in June and spent all season on the PUP list.

And, per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Moore’s contract tolled, so he is under club control through 2022, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area observes. The pertinent provision of the CBA reads, “[A player’s] contract will not be tolled for the period he is on PUP, except in the last year of his contract, when the player’s contract will be tolled if (i) he is still physically unable to perform his football services as of the sixth regular season game; and (ii) he is not reinstated to the Club’s Active/Inactive List during that regular season or postseason.” 

Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing for Moore. If he were to hit the open market in March after having spent the entirety of last season on the shelf, it’s not as though he would be in line to make any more than the $965K he will earn from San Francisco in 2022. And, if the 49ers do not re-sign Jaquiski Tartt, Matt Barrows of The Athletic (subscription required) expects Moore to be the front-runner for the starting SS gig. Barrows adds that he is fully recovered from his Achilles tear.

In 48 games (13 starts), the Southern Miss product has compiled 100 tackles, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles.