Among the list of concerns around the 49ers heading into the 2026 season, safety once again ranked highly.
It is a position that has been a long-term problem for the 49ers, who have not had a settled and reliable pairing at safety since 2023, when Tashaun Gipson and Talanoa Hufanga manned the two starting spots before the latter’s campaign was ended by injury and Ji’Ayir Brown came into the lineup.
With Brown’s promising start to his NFL career fading and the former third-round pick experiencing inconsistencies
in his performances, the 49ers have found it difficult to find a pairing that works over recent seasons.
Their situation at safety has not been helped by Malik Mustapha seeing his initial progress in 2024 checked by injury issues but, two games into the 2026 campaign, it is an area of the roster where the 49ers could claim to have strength in depth.
Indeed, both Brown and 2025 fifth-round pick Marques Sigle, who flashed promise as a rookie year before being benched amid struggles in coverage, have impressed as the starting safety pairing.
In last Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins, Brown had 13 combined tackles and a tackle for loss that helped prevent Miami from cashing in on a trip to the red zone in the first half. Sigle, meanwhile, had nine tackles and the first sack of his NFL career, while the former Kansas State defender has yet to give up a reception through two games.
Sigle has played 111 of 120 defensive snaps so far this season, while Brown has only missed nine, leaving Mustapha as the odd man out in the competition for playing time.
After playing six defensive snaps in relief of Brown against the Los Angeles Rams, Mustapha featured on just three in the win over Miami.
When on the field in previous seasons, Mustapha has displayed great playmaking instincts in coverage and enticing downhill thump against the run. However, he has been a victim of training camp misfortune to this point, with a hamstring injury seeing Mustapaha miss much of camp, allowing Sigle and Brown to make the starting jobs their own.
In essence, the 49ers have a safety whom they have been very comfortable starting in recent years sat on the bench. Though that is unfortunate for Mustapha, the overall situation at safety is clearly one with which Kyle Shanahan is delighted.
Asked about the play from his safeties in the early weeks of the season, Shanahan told his Monday conference call:
“I think they’ve been doing great. It was just unfortunate for Malik that he missed all of training camp and he didn’t get healthy until we were down in Australia. Those guys got a lot of work together and really kind of solidified that job by how they played throughout the preseason and I think it’s shown here in these last two weeks. I think they’ve both played very well. Malik did get in there for a few plays and I thought he played really well when he got in. He’s been looking great in practice too and getting right back to where he was. We’ve got three guys right there who could all start for us, so it’s a good problem to have.”
Of course, the 49ers have been here before with their safeties. Their recent history at the position is a story of promising play falling off and leaving the area as one of vulnerability.
Right now, though, they have three players whom the 49ers believe are starters and a veteran insurance policy in Ashtyn Davis. It’s not out of the realms of possibility that one of Sigle or Brown struggles and Mustapha earns more playing time, but the 49ers are clearly comfortable with that as a scenario.
At the spot where it looked in the offseason that there might be cause for alarm, the 49ers’ commitment to their draft picks at safety is affording them a sense of calm.
