Week three against the Steelers is the perfect debut for Jason Verrett

Cornerback Jason Verrett should be in line to suit up Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is the perfect game for him to debut against a backup quarterback and a weak wide receiver group.

One of the many players that suffered an injury during the preseason was cornerback Jason Verrett. Given his history of injuries, the 49ers shut him down to allow him to be 100% come the regular season. Verrett didn’t become healthy until about a week ago, so he was good to go against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Unfortunately for him, the 49ers coaching staff felt that they could do without Verrett and made him a healthy scratch last Sunday. They possibly felt that putting his debut off another week would behoove him both health and performance wise.

With the San Francisco 49ers returning home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers, it gives Jason Verrett the perfect debut for his 2019 season.

The Steelers will be without Ben Roethlisberger who suffered a season ending elbow injury this past Sunday. Second year quarterback Mason Rudolph will lead the charge against the 49ers, which means the 49ers will have plenty of chances to rumple some feathers. The Steelers offense without Roethlisberger should not be threatening.

They were barely a competent offense with him at the helm for the last game and a half. It should be no issues for Robert Saleh to trip up Rudolph in his first start given that his pass rush is so lethal. Verrett will be able to get his legs under him without much pressure. This is the perfect game to have him get as many snaps as possible.

It’s not solely because the Steelers are rolling out their backup quarterback, but because their wide receivers are not impressive. Outside of JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Steelers depth at receiver is underwhelming. Verrett should have no problem taking care of their third or fourth best wideout. If he does, then it will be somewhat concerning.

The main focus for him in week three is to get accustomed to live game speed. Remember, he’s been out of the game for a fairly long time. His conditioning and feel for the game during live action could be rusty.

It’s why the Steelers make for a perfect debut because he can afford to make a couple of mistakes if he can’t handle the Steelers depth players at receiver.

If the 49ers can get Verrett up to speed, then their secondary will feel like a cheat code. With the way Ahkello Witherspoon has stepped up this season along with Richard Sherman, that secondary would only get more dangerous with Verrett. When it’s all said and done, the 49ers could finish as a top five defense in the league.