Richard Sherman will hit free agency this week after three years in San Francisco, and many, myself included, would love to see him return to Seattle. He plans to play two more seasons before retirement, and where better to spend those years than with the franchise that helped him rise to stardom? While injuries slowed him last season, the 33-year-old has proven he can still be a top coverage option when healthy. However, not only is he not the best corner the Seahawks could pursue this offseason, he’s not even the best former 49er. Enter Jason Verrett.
Verrett is three years younger than Sherman and is coming off a career year in 2020. Despite this, he should command much less than Sherman’s estimated $9.9 million price tag. While he’s not a beloved Seahawks legend and has injury concerns of his own, Seattle can bring its secondary closer to recapturing its Legion of Boom magic by signing Verrett rather than its former centerpiece.
The Case for Jason Verrett
Talent jumps off the page
Jason Verrett’s natural ability is obvious. He finished among the top three cornerbacks in every drill he participated in at the 2014 NFL Combine, headlined by a 4.38 40-yard dash. The Chargers took him with the 25th overall selection that year, ahead of players like DeMarcus Lawrence and Bradley Roby. He appeared in only 6 games as a rookie, but followed that up with a breakout sophomore campaign that earned him a Pro Bowl nod. Entering his age-25 season, he appeared poised to join the ranks of lockdown corners.
Injuries had other plans, as Verrett wouldn’t play more than 4 games in a season over the next four years for the Chargers and 49ers. He didn’t quite play the full 2020 season either, as a preseason hamstring strain held him out until Week 3. He’d also miss a Week 15 matchup with the Cowboys due to an illness. In the 13 games he did play, however, Verrett proved he’s still capable of reaching an All-Pro level.
Although his 66.7% completion percentage allowed wasn’t impressive, most of those completions went for very little yardage. He allowed just 6.1 yards per target, giving up only one touchdown against two interceptions and seven pass breakups. In all, opposing passers posted a rating of just 76.2 when targeting him. For perspective, that’s within a point of the career passer ratings of such legendary quarterbacks as Erik Kramer, Jay Fiedler and Chad Henne. (Sorry Chad, I hyped you up last week so I have to even things out.)
All this despite Verrett often shadowing #1 receivers, as Richard Sherman missed all but five games with a calf injury. Over the last four weeks of the season, Verrett matched up with three of the league’s best receivers in Terry McLaurin, DeAndre Hopkins and D.K. Metcalf. He allowed just 15 completions on 26 targets, breaking up three passes and intercepting one in the process. All three receivers finished with less than 50 yards and no touchdowns, with Hopkins the only one to crack 25. Perhaps even more telling, in the one game Verrett missed in that span, San Francisco gave up 41 points to Andy Dalton and the Cowboys. Richard Sherman allowed completions on 6-of-6 targets, including two touchdowns, in what was likely his last game as a 49er.
Undersized, but that’s not the issue it used to be
Pete Carroll’s fixation on tall, long-armed corners is almost as well-known as John Elway’s thing for tall quarterbacks. Of the first nine corners drafted in Carroll’s regime, all had arms at least 32 inches long and only 5’11” Walter Thurmond stood less than 6 feet tall. At 5’9″ and with 30 5/8″ arms, Jason Verrett doesn’t fit that prototype.
There’s reason to believe Carroll may be softening his stance, however. Whether it’s because of recent long-armed busts around the league like Kevin King and Artie Burns or watching Tre Flowers struggle up close, we’ve seen a slight shift in favor of smaller corners in the past couple years. 2019 fourth-round pick Ugo Amadi stands just 5’9″ with 31 3/4″ arms, becoming the first corner drafted under Carroll who didn’t meet the 32″ threshold. He played 48% of the defensive snaps as Seattle’s top option in the slot last year.
While Carroll has utilized undersized slot corners like Amadi in the past, D.J. Reed is the first to find success on the perimeter. Seattle claimed the 5’9″, 31 5/8″-armed corner off waivers from the 49ers and he quickly proved himself a worthy addition. He started 8 games after Quinton Dunbar’s injury and posted numbers similar to Verrett’s: 6.8 yards per target, seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a 75.8 opposing passer rating. While Verrett faced tougher matchups, Reed’s effectiveness proved that smaller corners can succeed on the outside in Carroll’s scheme.
Injuries could keep costs down
Verrett’s excellent play still wasn’t quite enough to overshadow his extensive injury history. He’s appeared in only 39 games over seven years in the league and has never played a full 16-game season. Only two other players from the 2014 first round class played in less: Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert. (Sorry, Browns fans.) Eleven different injuries have caused Verrett to miss time over that span, some much more severe than others. A grade 3 ACL tear sidelined him for 12 games in 2016 and 15 more in 2017 after a setback. He missed all of 2018 after suffering a grade 3 Achilles tear on the first day of training camp. After joining the 49ers in 2019, he made one appearance before a knee sprain ended his season.
As devastating as these injuries have been to Verrett’s career, they could actually benefit the teams interested in him. His production for San Francisco last year cost them just a little over $1 million. While that price will certainly increase in free agency, it won’t come close to the $9.86 million his play warranted.
An incentive-laden one-year deal would be a low-risk, high-reward investment for Seattle. If Verrett gets hurt again, Seattle can move on from him easily. They’d still have the room to sign Quinton Dunbar or another low-cost option who could take over in that event. If he stays healthy, he gives the Seahawks a replacement or even an upgrade from the departing Shaquill Griffin. A reunion with Richard Sherman may be appealing, but pursuing Jason Verrett is the smarter move for a team that needs to make a title run in 2021.
