A high ankle sprain could wind up spelling the end of 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley’s regular season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday told reporters in a conference call the earliest Moseley would return is in Week 18 when the 49ers visit the Rams, but he’s not optimistic about that timetable.
San Francisco’s defense has been able to piece together a couple good outings since Moseley went down in the second quarter of the 49ers’ Week 13 loss to the Seahawks. An already thin secondary missing its best cornerback might be able to get by in the regular season, but they’ll need Moseley in the playoffs if they want to make any kind of run.
This season opposing quarterbacks have a 79.7 passer rating when targeting the 49ers’ top cornerback. He’s allowed just one touchdown and notched eight pass breakups while allowing a completion rate of 56.9 percent on balls thrown his way.
Rookie third-round pick Ambry Thomas started in Moseley’s stead in Weeks 14 and 15. Thomas struggled in both starts, but improved in the second one which provides some optimism he can continue holding down the fort across from Norman until the postseason begins and Moseley can return.
