Green is too good to take off the field.
The 49ers just found another keeper.
Rookie cornerback Renardo Green is ready to start and make a big impact on the 49ers defense. He was one of their best players in their 36-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks this past Thursday night. He was targeted 12 times and he gave up just four catches plus he intercepted a pass. He was the 49ers’ best cornerback on the field. And it was his first career start.
Green played only because veteran cornerback Charvarius Ward was a late scratch with a knee injury. With Ward sidelined, Isaac Yiadom became a full-time starter next to Deommodore Lenoir and Green became the no. 3 cornerback in the nickel defense. He ended up playing 91 percent of the defensive snaps.
Now Green is too good to take off the field. At the minimum, he needs to take Yiadom’s spot as the no. 3 cornerback when Ward returns. Because Yiadom is solid, but he has intercepted just two passes in seven career seasons. He’s not a playmaker. Green is one. Plus his coverage is stickier than Yiadom’s.
Or the 49ers could trade Charvarius Ward before the trade deadline and make Green a full-time starter. Ward is a Pro Bowl cornerback who will be a free agent in the offseason and the 49ers probably won’t re-sign him because they have to extend Brock Purdy and Lenoir. Which means the 49ers could decide to trade Ward before he hits free agency now that they’ve seen how good Green is.