San Francisco 49ers: Breaking down new cornerback Quinten Rollins

The San Francisco 49ers signed former Green Bay Packers defensive back Quinten Rollins on Friday to help fill out some extra depth in the secondary.

The San Francisco 49ers did a great job of addressing many of the team’s weaknesses in the offseason. From defensive end to wide receiver, most of the team’s roster looks much-improved from last season.

But one position group that was mostly ignored was the team’s defensive backs.

For one reason or another, the 49ers opted not to add many pieces at all in their secondary with the signing of the oft-injured Jason Verrett being the lone key addition. And now going into 2019, the position group could still be a concern.

While Richard Sherman will hold down the fort as the No. 1 cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon will be competing with Verrett for the other outside corner spot and neither remains a sure thing.

And opposite Jaquiski Tartt at safety, Jimmie Ward has once again been dealing with injuries this summer. Perhaps Tarvarius Moore could be the team’s savior at the free safety position but that remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the 49ers made a late addition to the roster on Friday morning to help give the team more depth in their secondary.

San Francisco signed former Green Bay Packers cornerback Quinten Rollins and he’ll now be expected to compete for one of the final roster spots. But make no mistake about it, Rollins is far from a typical camp body.

The former 2015 second-round pick has starting experience under his belt having started 15 of the 33 career games he’s played. And coming out of college, he was a very intriguing prospect.

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Rollins played just one year of football while at Miami University (OH), instead playing basketball for four seasons in college. However, his lone season at cornerback proved fruitful as the Ohio native captured seven interceptions and was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

It was enough to see him selected 62nd overall by Green Bay in 2015 — the highest by any Miami University player since Ben Roethlisberger back in 2004.

However, injuries and inconsistent play tell the story of Rollins’ tenure in Green Bay. He dealt with hamstring concerns and never really seemed to fit in one role with the team.

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The likes of Sherman, Witherspoon, and Verrett are guaranteed roster spots as outside corners, but Rollins could be able to claw his way up the depth chart playing the nickel.

The anticipated starter at nickel corner is 28-year-old K’Waun Williams but a knee injury has left him sidelined for much of the summer. In his place, young players such as D.J. Reed and Emmanuel Moseley have stepped up and impressed.

Reed is likely a lock for the roster at this point but Rollins could have an edge on Moseley given his versatility in the defensive backfield. However, Moseley has the experience with Robert Saleh’s defensive system and excels on special teams.

It will be an uphill battle for Rollins to make the final 53-man roster, but it’s far from impossible. If he could impress in the team’s final few preseason games, then the 49ers might just have to make room for him on the roster.

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At the very least, Rollins is very solid secondary depth for a unit in desperate need of some playmakers.