The San Francisco 49ers officially opened safety Malik Mustapha’s practice window on Monday. Mustapha is recovering from a surgery he had in January to reattach a graft of the ACL in his right knee — which
was from a previous surgery.
The 49ers have 21 days to activate Mustapha to the 53-man roster for him to play this season. In theory, Mustapha could play as early as Week 6 against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that just scored 38 points.
Rookie Marques Sigle and Jason Pinnock have started at safety in each of the first five games of the season. Ji’Ayir Brown continues to play on base downs. Brown played 12 snaps against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.
Mustapha was one of the best defenders in 2024 for the 49ers. We don’t have to worry about whether he’ll start or not. It will be interesting to see who comes off the field between Sigle and Pinnock, or if Saleh has specific roles and packages for all four safeties.
Pinnock had a season-high three pass rushes against the Rams. Rushing the passer was his strength with the New York Giants. On a team that will need all hands on deck when it comes to pressuring the quarterback, Pinnock will continue to play.
Sigle has taken some lumps in coverage, but he’s been superb as a run defender — specifically in terms of his run fits. Fixing the run defense was the No. 1 priority this offseason for the 49ers, as evidenced by their draft. Sigle plays a critical role in that.
