Why the 49ers Won't Name Emmanuel Moseley a Starting Cornerback
Emmanuel Moseley is the 49ers' second-best cornerback.
There really is no debating this. No other corner has outplayed him at training camp, despite how some players and pundits really want to push the narrative that Jason Verrett has looked superb.
Verrett has looked improved and polished -- against the backups. He is not better than Moseley based off my observations at training camp.
Ahkello Witherspoon has looked inconsistent. He'll have a stretch where he looks great, then a stretch where Dante Pettis completely owns him. Witherspoon is not better than Moseley.
There are no questions or concerns whenever Moseley is out there. He has looked the better player opposite of Richard Sherman and deserves to be the starter.
However, the 49ers remain in the same stance as they did when training camp started that No. 2 cornerback job is open.
"But, as far as the corner spot, Kyle [Shanahan], obviously, he's heavily involved," said defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Thursday. "We're evaluating it every day and when coach Shanahan is ready to pull the trigger, he'll pull the trigger. As of now, it's still a work in progress.”
Why are the 49ers, or actually why is Shanahan so adamant on keeping the starting job at No. 2 corner an open competition?
It is because he wants either Verrett or Witherspoon to win the job because those are HIS guys. That is why the 49ers won't name Moseley as the starter.
Shanahan wants to be able to say that HIS guy won the job, not some undrafted free agent they just plucked down the line.
My claim is not baseless. All you have to do is recall towards the end of last season. Witherspoon was getting toasted with every pass thrown his way, yet the 49ers continued to roll with him as the starter. Even when Moseley bailed them out in Week 17 against the Seahawks, the 49ers still had the nerve to give Witherspoon the start in the playoffs against the Vikings. How did that workout?
Coaches, even the brilliant ones, are stubborn by nature. And even though Shanahan isn't as stubborn as most coaches in the league, he still has a stubbornness to him when it comes to who he plays. It is why Matt Breida was shipped out. It is why Tevin Coleman is the starter at running back. It is why Pettis was given such a long leash last season before being ousted. Roster politics are real in the NFL and it is being perfectly displayed now at cornerback.
Moseley has been the second-best corner at training camp. Even Saleh himself has said that he has picked up right where he left off. Why does Shanahan continue to play with Moseley like this?
Could he be secretly taking it out on him because of his gaff on third-and-15 gaff in the Super Bowl?
Maybe.
Whatever the case may be, Moseley is not being given a fair shot nor the respect he deserves. He won the starting job last season and is still rolling strong in training camp. To continue keeping the starting job open says more about Shanahan than it does about Moseley.
