49ers Place Emmanuel Moseley on Reserve/COVID-19 List
Well, this is unfortunate.
The 49ers have placed cornerback Emmanuel Moseley on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Whether Moseley tested positive or not is unknown, but Tom Pelissero of NFL Network paints it out as very likely that Moseley did end up testing positive.
Training camp officially went underway for the 49ers today with their first day of practice kicking off Wednesday at 10:17 a.m. PST. With Moseley out for tomorrow, and possibly the rest of the week, that means rookie Ambry Thomas will see first-team reps. Even Deommodore Lenoir could see a rep or two with the first team. Whatever the 49ers see fit, really.
While Moseley being placed on the list is unfortunate for him and you hope for a speedy recovery, this is a huge opportunity for Thomas to stake his claim as a serious starting candidate. This could put Moseley in a hole if Thomas plays well. Toward the end of the 2020 season, Moseley could not see a share of the field on defense. He was relegated as a special teams player.
Being that Thomas is a third-round draft pick, the 49ers will have no qualms handing him the role if he is looking strong. Moseley is an undrafted free agent the 49ers lucked out on. There is nothing pushing them to continue to trot him out as compared to Thomas who was personally handpicked by Kyle Shanahan with quite a weighted draft pick.
Regardless, this is a good time for the 49ers to see what they have in Thomas and get him ready. Despite coming off an impressive season, Jason Verrett is still an injury-prone player.
The more reps for Thomas to be ready to step into the fold, the better.
