49ers injury updates: Kyle Shanahan fears that Jason Verrett tore his ACL

The 49ers beat the Lions Sunday 41-33, but it didn’t feel like that the way the fourth quarter ended. Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to the media after Sunday’s victory to provide a few injury updates.

Shanahan fears that the team has lost cornerback Jason Verrett to an ACL injury for the season: “It’s crushing. Hoping for the best, but it’s crushing.”

Losing Verrett would be a massive blow, as he was comfortably one of the best players on the team. The Lions took advantage of the defense once Verrett went down, and Shanahan acknowledged as much.

After the game, Deebo Samuel said the Niners were impacted negatively by the loss of Verrett.

Shanahan said Emmanuel Moseley could return next week. He also said that Josh Norman was ready to go this game, despite being inactive.

So, who could potentially replace Verrett? Richard Sherman. “Sherm’s always a possibility,” were the words Shanahan used. He said the two sides had discussed a potential return.

Shanahan said the 49ers would look into cornerbacks, “Tonight, tomorrow, and Tuesday.” The tough part about this is they’re not growing on trees. Finding a player that can come in and help won’t be easy.

Raheem Mostert is slated for an MRI tonight, but Kyle Shanahan said the training staff told him they don’t believe it’s an ACL injury.

Speaking of running backs, Shanahan said Trey Sermon, who was a healthy scratch, wasn’t one of the three best running backs in camp, and that’s why he was inactive. That’s not a good look for a player you traded up to draft.

Brandon Aiyuk didn’t receive one target all game. Shanahan explained why:

“He’s only been back for a week after he tweaked his hamstring. Wanted to be smart with that. Also, Trent Sherfield’s earned the right to be out there more. Sherfield was pushing him as it was.”

It sounds like Shanahan was sending a message to the 2020 first-round pick. Aiyuk looked like a start in early August, but he was inconsistent during the back half of training camp.

We’ll provide any injury updates once there’s word from Mostert’s MRI.