Malik Mustapha played 21 snaps in his season debut for the San Francisco 49ers. But the plan was for Mustapha to ease his way back into the lineup. He did not step onto the field until the second quarter.
Instead, Robert Saleh elected to bench Jason Pinnock, who did not play a single defensive snap in Week 6. Kyle Shanahan was asked what led to Pinnock’s role being reduced to two special teams snaps.
Shanahan said, “He was the starting safety for the first five weeks. We thought Brown had been earning time at safety, and we know with Mustapha coming back, we were going to start rotating and getting Mustapha in there so he could eventually take that over.”
That starting spot went to Ji’Ayir Brown. In his first start of the season, Brown did not come off the field and played a season-high 53 snaps. Shanahan said after the other two safeties started the first five weeks, “We thought Tig deserved it.
Shanahan thought Brown was solid against Tampa Bay: “I thought he did a decent job. I thought he was physical. I thought he made some plays, not too many mistakes. I thought Tig was solid.”
The plan was for Pinnock to play some big-nickel roles, but “it didn’t become a factor in that game the way it played out.” Luke Gifford played 21 snaps after not seeing the field in Week 5. Saleh is drawing names out of a hat in hopes of pressing the right personnel button.
Having Mustapha on the field for the entire game will help. On a screen pass, Mustapha came flying up to limit the yards after the catch to a four-yard gain. When Mustapha was playing the deep safety role, there were no deep passes attempted. That’s the sign of somebody doing their job.
Here’s what Shanahan saw from Mustapha this past Sunday:
“Yeah, probably more about talking to him and how his body felt, really how it feels kind of today and tomorrow, how he does in practice this week. But, I think he got about 20 plays and he looked good and moved around, flew around. He was ready for that moment and I liked that we were able to get him in there, do all that stuff and get him out healthy. Hopefully it’ll be closer to that this week.”
The spot next to Mustapha remains up for grabs. Shanahan said, “I think we’ve got three guys who are capable there, and those are what all those three guys are battling for.
Shanahan said nobody has taken that other safety spot the way Mustapha did last year, and the team will continue to evaluate Brown, Sigle, and Pinnock: “I don’t think any of that’s set in stone. We’re trying to hope that they make that decision for us.”
That’s the correct approach. The challenge is knowing which situations to play them in and how long a leash you get if you make a mistake. Pinnock made plenty through five games, which is why we didn’t see him against Tampa Bay. Mustapha rotating in with the other starter is a sign that everything is on the table.
The next test for the 49ers’ secondary is slowing down a player who had nine receptions and 147 yards on Monday night in the first half against the Buffalo Bills.
About the Author: Insidethe49
