The 49ers safety is expected to return to the starting lineup due to an injury.
The San Francisco 49ers made a big roster move defensively this past weekend as a result of activating safety Talanoa Hufanga from Injured Reserve and immediately returning him to the starting lineup.
The team was left with a decision: keep the more experienced Ji’Ayir Brown in the starting lineup or bench Brown and continue to start the emerging rookie Malik Mustapha opposite of Hufanga.
San Francisco went with the latter option, benching Brown, who has struggled this season, and going with the tandem of Hufanga and Mustapha. What led to that decision?
“Just how Malik’s been playing,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday. “I think he’s been playing at a high level. He’s been one of the better players on our defense, I think, here over the last month or so. So it’s nothing against Tig. We still want Tig to be out there, but when we had to make a decision, we kept Mustapha out there.”
That tandem seemed to play well together, with Hufanga looking the part in his return from injury on Sunday in San Francisco’s 38-13 win over the Chicago Bears.
The safety was moved all over the place, seeing 20 snaps as a free safety and 17 snaps in the box, pairing well with Mustapha, who was moved between the box, free safety, and even in the slot.
“I thought he did a real good job. Loved having Huf back,” Shanahan said of his star safety. “Even the first play of the game, for him to get in on that tackle. His communication, everything, just helping the defense get lined up and stuff is extremely good and it was a real good first game for him.”
However, that left Brown as the odd man out, with the second-year safety playing just 15 snaps this weekend after Mustapha left with an injury. Has the coaching staff seen a sophomore slump from the 2023 third-round pick? Or was it more an indication of Mustapha’s readiness to make the switch?
“No, I think [his play is at] the same as last year. I think Tig’s playing like a good starting safety,” Shanahan said about Brown. “Huf’s been our guy there and has done some big things when he’s been healthy, as everyone knows with Huf. And Huf had a great week of practice and we wanted to get him on the field and we had to choose one guy to come off. So, we thought Mustapha had earned that over his play the last month to stay out there and we’re good with our decision.”
Brown had started the team’s first 12 games of the year, making the change a fairly notable one. However, the safety has a big opportunity coming up this week, as Mustapha has been ruled out with chest and shoulder injuries, likely promoting Brown back to the starting lineup.
While the second-year pro has been inconsistent for much of the year, he also hasn’t gotten the chance to play alongside Hufanga much, as the former All-Pro has seen action in only three games this year, playing a full-time role in just two.
Perhaps the opportunity to play more freely and with a more experienced complement could help get Brown back on track, even if the safety is to lose his starting job when Mustapha returns again.
Nonetheless, it’s a big chance for the second-year pro, who will be thrust into the spotlight in a big game against the Los Angeles Rams against a tough quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Will he be up for the task?
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