49ers Notes: Verrett, Front Office, Taylor

Jason Verrett has had a long road. Ever since the 2014 first round pick debuted with the Chargers, it’s been clear he has a ton of talent. In 2015 he had a breakout sophomore season and made the Pro Bowl, but unfortunately that’s the only year he’s been able to stay healthy. In his other four years in the league, he’s only played in 11 total games. Most recently, he missed the entire 2018 campaign with a torn Achilles. Verrett said earlier this offseason he was in a “dark place” after his most recent injury and that the contemplated retirement, but the cornerback ended up signing a one-year, $3.6MM deal with the 49ers.

San Francisco is understandably taking it slowly with him, but he appears to be making some progress. Verrett said recently that he’s “on track to be ready for training camp,” per Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. Verrett has played at an elite level in the past, but it’s unclear what he’ll look like in 2019 after all the injuries. If he can get back to anywhere close to his 2015 self, he’ll be a huge addition for a 49ers secondary that struggled mightily last year.

Here’s more from San Francisco:

• The 49ers made a historic promotion earlier this week, elevating Salli Clavelle to the role of pro personnel analyst, per Matt Maioccio of NBC Sports. Clavelle is the league’s only woman who holds a full-time scouting job. Maioccio also has updates on a handful of other moves the 49ers made in their scouting department, including hiring Steve Slowik away from Pro Football Focus to be a scouting assistant.
• The 49ers have receivers Deebo Samuel, Dante Pettis, and Marquise Goodwin all playing on the outside, but they’ve got an interesting battle going on for their starting slot receiver job. In a separate piece, Maioccio writes that “Trent Taylor clearly created separation against Richie James,” for the role, and that Taylor has “created a nice rapport with [Jimmy] Garoppolo.” Taylor, a fifth round pick in 2017, had a promising rookie season but a disappointing 2018. Now fully healthy after back surgery limited him last offseason, it sounds like he could be in for a bounce back year.