Veteran cornerback Jason Verrett tore his rotator cuff during practice on Thursday.
The injury will require him to have surgery, which means his 2023 season is over. This is now the eighth time that Verrett has undergone a season-ending injury. He can never catch a break at all and it's been that way for practically his whole career.
The elite talent is there with Verrett, but if he can never find a stroke of luck with his health, then it is all moot. The last time he did was in 2020 with the 49ers, in which he played a significant role in their passing defense being elite that year. You have to feel for Verrett who likely is feeling negatively right now after suffering another season-ending injury.
"We talked to him right when it happened He handles it like he does everything, like a man, but I know how it is," said Kyle Shanahan. "He's going to be pretty down for a little bit. I hope he hangs around here because we all love him around here. I think that could help him. This will pass like, like it always does. He had a long road to get back to this point and I just told him I can't believe how good he's looked.
"I didn't think it would ever be possible to come back from what he has, with all the knees and the Achilles and everything and he did. He looked great in Houston. He looked great here. It was a perfect opportunity for him to play this week just so he could play a lot and see how he was going into the playoffs. He got a random shoulder injury, just tried to put in perspective for him. It's not like you got your knee again, it's not like you got your Achilles or anything. That's something you can come back from, but I don't think that's stuff on his mind right now.”
I doubt all of that is on Verrett's mind as well. In fact, he is probably reflecting on his career right about now. It might be time for Verrett to call it a career and retire. At least, that is what I would advise him. At some point, he needs to take care of himself and preserve his body when he gets older. The way he is going now, or has been going, is indicative that he isn't built for this anymore.
Plenty of players land on the ground the way he did when he tore his rotator cuff. It's football after all, and yet he is the one that suffers a significant injury. Watching Verrett play early in his career and in 2020 was a thing of beauty. He was a fantastic cornerback that could guard the best receivers, but now it is time for him to move on. Perhaps coaching is what he should look to pursue now. That way he still can provide for the game he loves and be around it.
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