Will the 49ers have money to spend on a veteran safety?
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver wrote a column worth reading. It discusses Kyle Shanahan and the hard truths his team is facing this offseason.
Silver highlights several topics, including the team exploring “high-profile maneuvers” that involved trading for Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher and Nick Bosa’s older brother Joey Bosa — something we were told not to rule out.
Acknowledging that moves and decisions in the NFL are fluid, Silver said the Niners aren’t done tinkering with their roster, including pursuing a starting caliber safety. Why? Well, it doesn’t sound like Talanoa Hufanga’s starting spot is guaranteed:
Safety Talanoa Hufanga, a 24-year-old who earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2022, is coming off a torn ACL and isn’t assured of reclaiming his starting job. The cornerback position is also in flux, with starter Deommodore Lenoir facing a possible move to the slot, depending upon whether the 49ers can find a suitable replacement in free agency or the draft.
With the safety market somewhat oversaturated, the Niners might be able to land a big name such as Justin Simmons (four times a second-team All-Pro during his Denver career) or a less decorated player such as the Commanders’ Kam Curl or the Colts’ Julian Blackmon.
Hufanga is coming off a torn ACL and has a history of injuries dating back to his days at USC.
With the 49ers playing a heavy dosage of Cover 3/4, a player such as Hufanga is a good fit. But if the plan is to lean into Brandon Staley and his coverage principles, your safety has to be able to match with or turn and run with a receiver — something that isn’t a strength of Talanoa’s.
He’s at his best when he’s in the box, reading the quarterback, or flying off the edge to make a tackle. If Nick Sorensen and Staley lean into more 2-high coverages moving forward, that would mean a pivot away from Hufanga.
Curl signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.
When you look at the names available in the safety market, oversaturation is an understatement. Here is a list of five players on the market who started at least half the season last year:
Jamal Adams
Justin Simmons
Eddie Jackson
Quandre Diggs
Micah Hyde
There are several other starters or players who can contribute, including Marcus Maye, Mike Edwards, Tashaun Gipson, and Blackmon.
Simmons, Jackson, Diggs, and Hyde all have reputations for being a ballhawk. Blackmon and Edwards are the only safeties under 30, but safety is a complex position that led to 33-year-old Logan Ryan starting meaningful games.
Simmons has been a second-team All-Pro four times. He was a cap casualty as Simmons was set to have the fourth-highest cap charge on the Denver Broncos this season at $18.25 million. From 2018 to 2021, I’m unsure if Simmons missed a snap.
He missed five games in 2022, while a hip injury sidelined Simmons for two games in 2023. Despite missing five games, Simmons still tied for the league lead in interceptions. I say this tongue-in-cheek, but Simmons’ history against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may be what moves the needle. He has five interceptions against Mahomes.
He’d be the best safety the 49ers have had in the Kyle Shanahan era.
So would Diggs, who is one year older but might come cheaper and could sneakily be as good a player as Simmons. Diggs played under Sorensen for one season in Seattle when Sorensen was the secondary coach. There’s the familiarity box we can check.
He only had one interception this past season but has 14 in the previous three seasons, hasn’t missed a game since 2019, and isn’t as big of a “gambler” in the secondary.
Both players are excellent. Both players also miss a high percentage of tackles. But, to me, that tells me they are around the football a lot. Diggs and Simmons are upgrades over Hufanga, which isn’t a shot at Talanoa. But the question always comes back to price.
Is paying for a veteran safety over Hufanga on a rookie contract worth it? You also have to weigh Hufanga’s health, among a dozen other things. It’s another layer to the 49ers offseason that isn’t anywhere close to being finished.
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