Bill Williamson, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

49ers enjoying depth at cornerback

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers have a chance to have one of the deepest cornerback groups in the NFL.

Veteran acquisition Eric Wright is eligible to practice next week, and could be ready to play in less than a month. That would give the 49ers Wright and fellow veteran Nnamdi Asomugha as their fourth and fifth cornerbacks.

Asomugha has lost his spot as the No. 3 cornerback because Tramaine Brock has been outstanding as Asomugha’s injury replacement. On Thursday, San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said it’s possible Asomugha could be a healthy inactive in coming weeks.

In my opinion, Asomugha could be released when Wright is activated. You don’t see a lot of inactive, healthy 32-year-old cornerbacks. On the other hand, Asomugha's $2 million salary is guaranteed, and he is solid insurance against injuries, so he could be worth keeping.

All Fangio is concerned with is how deep his cornerback group is.

“We feel that if we have to play any of them we’ll just continue to play our package the way we like to play it and make an adjustment here or there,” Fangio said. “But we feel good about those guys. A lot of them are very close in their abilities; it hasn’t always been easy to distinguish on whom to play in certain situations. But, obviously, it’s good to have choices.”

San Francisco’s depth at the position could change dramatically next year. Brock, Wright and starter Tarrell Brown are all scheduled to be free agents at the end of the year.

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