49ers resign Moseley

Three years after he was passed over, 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley got paid.

Moseley, 24, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018, on Friday signed a twoyear extension with a maximum value of $10.1 million, giving the 49ers an established option at the position before the start of free agency Wednesday. The NFL Network reported the deal.

Said Moseley, via Twitter, after his contract was reported: “Blessed and happy to be back.”

The contract was confirmation of just how far Moseley has come. He was thrust into the starting lineup in October 2019 due to injuries, and his first test against the Browns looked like a massive mismatch. Moseley spent much of the game lined up against AllPro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who had 45 career touchdown catches.

The result: Beckham had two catches for 27 yards.

Moseley, who has 17 career starts, established himself as the 49ers’ No. 2 corner behind Richard Sherman last year, but a concussion and hamstring injury limited him to eight starts (12 games) and he played just 48% of the defensive snaps. Moseley had one interception and a teamhigh nine pass breakups.

Moseley’s contract wasn’t a surprise given the 49ers’ lack of proven options at the position.

Before his deal, the 49ers had just four cornerbacks under contract for 2021, none of whom had played more than 237 career defensive snaps. Of the seven cornerbacks on the roster who started a game in 2020, Moseley is the only one who has a contract for next season.

The 49ers aren’t expected to retain Sherman, but they are expected to make strong pushes to keep cornerback Jason Verrett and slot corner K’Waun Williams. If they can’t resign Williams, Moseley is a candidate to assume his spot.

Moseley was a restricted free agent and the 49ers would have likely needed to retain him with a secondround tender worth $3.384 million.

In another move Friday, the 49ers released defensive end Ronald Blair, 28, who hasn’t played since he suffered a torn ACL in November 2019. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said in October that Blair had suffered a setback in his rehab.

They “had to redo some things with his knee … some stuff that they messed up in it,” Shanahan said.

The 49ers also tendered a oneyear contract to offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, who played right guard and center in 2020. Brunskill, who was an exclusive rights free agent, had no negotiating rights.