SANTA CLARA – Injuries in the secondary have prompted the 49ers to move their third-round pick of last year back to his natural position.
Taravarius Moore, who who spent his first NFL season at cornerback, was back at his college position of safety this week. The move was made after presumptive starting safety Jimmie Ward sustained a broken collarbone last week.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh suggested the door was still open for Moore to move back to cornerback, but it appears the 49ers feel confident with Ahkello Witherspoon and Jason Verrett as the options on the other side of Richard Sherman.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Saleh answered Wednesday when asked what position Moore will play when the season starts.
Moore was chosen last year with the No. 95 overall pick after his career at Southern Mississippi. He appeared in 16 games as a rookie with two starts at right cornerback.
In other news and notes from the second week of organized team activities:
--Cornerback Richard Sherman nearly had an interception on one of the first snaps of 11-on-11 drills. Sherman broke on a Nick Mullens pass intended for Dante Pettis. He came up with the pass at the sideline, but he was unable to secure possession before getting both feet inbounds.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
--Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo took most of the 7-on-7 snaps but did not participate in team work as he recovers from ACL surgery. Garoppolo’s best pass came during a red-zone drill when he hit Pettis at the back of the end zone against Sherman’s coverage. However, Pettis dropped the pass.
--Rookie receiver Deebo Samuel showed his explosive run-after-the-catch abilities when he took a pass from C.J. Beathard on a slant and sprinted the rest of the way into the end zone. Samuel also caught a 9-yard TD pass from Beathard in 7-on-7.
--Beathard also threw short TD passes to rookie receiver Shawn Poindexter in 7-on-7, along with scoring passes of 4 yards to fullback Kyle Juszczyk and rookie tight end Ross Dwelley
--Middle linebacker David Mayo broke up back-to-back Mullens passes during a 7-on-7 drills on throws intended for receiver Kendrick Bourne and Dwelley.
--Mullens struggled through the day, as safety Marcell Harris dropped another would-be interception.
--Tight end George Kittle had another strong day with receptions from each of the 49ers quarterbacks. He had two TD catches from Garoppolo in 7-on-7 drills, along with a scoring pass from Mullens in 11 on 11.
--Veteran linebacker Malcolm Smith lined up at the SAM linebacker with the first-team defense. With Kwon Alexander and Fred Warner sitting out OTAs after rehabbing from knee injuries, Elijah Lee and rookie Dre Greenlaw lined up with the first-team defense.
--Lee and defensive end Dee Ford had would-be sacks, coming free untouched in 11-on-11 drills.
--Safety Jaquiski Tartt broke up a Garoppolo pass for Pettis in the back of the end zone.
--Receiver Jordan Matthews got wide open in the corner of the end zone to catch a 6-yard TD pass from Garoppolo.
--Rookie punter Mitch Wishnowsky went 6-for-6 on plus-50 punts inside the 10-yard line, including two that were downed inside the 3-yard line.
--The list of players who did participate in practice due to injuries included: running backs Matt Breida (pectoral), Jerick McKinnon (knee) and Raheem Mostert (forearm), receiver Jalen Hurd (knee), tight end Garrett Celek (concussion/neck), center Weston Richburg (knee/quadriceps), defensive line Nick Bosa (hamstring) and Cedric Thornton, linebacker Alexander (knee), Warner (knee) and Azeez Al-Shaair, cornerback Jason Verrett (Achilles) and Tim Harris, safeties Jimmie Ward (collarbone) and D.J. Reed (shoulder).