The San Francisco 49ers made it official on Monday and announced the signing of Jason Verrett to the practice squad.

Verrett, who most recently spent time with the Houston Texans practice squad, has not played a game since tearing his ACL in the 49ers' 2021 season opener. He then tore his Achilles after coming off the PUP list in the 2022 campaign.

Back in 2021, Verrett was a starter for the 49ers. Now, however, San Francisco has an established top three at the cornerback position in Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas. Despite Ward suffering a groin injury in last Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks, Verrett will have time to settle in and provide veteran depth for a 49ers team that in Week 14 became the first in the NFL to clinch a playoff spot.

Asked about his expectations for Verrett following confirmation of his signing, head coach Kyle Shanahan told his Monday conference call: "Just coming in, being on the practice squad, showing us where he is at, being a part of our team that way. 

"When you're on the practice squad, you're only a couple plays away from possibly being a starter or just being out there on game day. So, he's going to try to show us he's ready for that moment and hopefully give us some depth there once we get a chance to see him."

Being ready for the moment has rarely been a challenge for Verrett when he has been healthy, but with so many injuries in his career at the age of 32, there's reason for skepticism that he could deliver his previous level of play if thrown into the fire of a postseason campaign.

Verrett showed enough in his workout with the 49ers last month to convince them he was worthy of signing before injuries at other positions, most notably safety, delayed that from happening.

Now he faces the task of convincing San Francisco that the Niners can rely on him as the best alternative if injuries further impact their secondary in the coming weeks.

That may sound like a tall order, but Verrett has not been deterred by injury misfortune that would have proved too much for many, and there's no doubt he'll attack his latest opportunity with the 49ers with the same tenacity.

49ers have new high to celebrate after help from unlikely source

They’re in the dance once again.