San Francisco brought Ashtyn Davis in only weeks ago, but he is already in a fight to stick around.
The 49ers signed the safety to a one-year, $1.75 million contract in June, and the deal came with minimal guarantees. That leaves him in the same kind of roster danger as plenty of the players chasing him on the depth chart. Less than two months after joining the team, Davis is staring at a real battle just to make it through training camp.
A year ago, Davis was starting in the NFL. Now, his path is far less certain.
His 2025 season with the Miami Dolphins did not help his case. Miami’s defense was already in rough shape, and Davis struggled along with it.
According to PFF, he allowed a passer rating of 108 when targeted and missed more than 20 percent of his tackle attempts. With the Dolphins reshaping their roster, they moved on, and Davis spent months in free agency before San Francisco finally brought him in.
He arrived during OTAs, which meant he missed part of the early acclimation period with his new teammates.
That timing matters now, because the 49ers’ safety picture is crowded enough to make every rep count. Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustafa are expected to handle the starting jobs. Behind them, Davis, Marques Sigle and rookie undrafted free agent Jalen Stroman are competing for what could be one or two remaining roster spots.
The 49ers kept four safeties on their initial 53-man roster in 2025, and Sigle looks positioned to claim the third spot. That puts Davis and Stroman in direct competition for the final opening.
Davis enters camp as the early favorite, but that edge is hardly a lock. Stroman has a real chance to make this interesting. At Notre Dame, he showed a knack for coming downhill and stopping the run, finishing his final season with three tackles for loss and one sack even though he lined up as a deep safety on nearly two-thirds of his snaps.
That kind of versatility gives Stroman a chance to move around the defense, and his physical style could win him attention quickly. If he stands out to the 49ers’ staff, Davis could be the one left without a seat.
In Other News...
George Kittle Just Shared A Wild Kyle Shanahan Fight Story
George Kittle has a way of turning even a casual offseason memory into a full-on locker room story, and his latest one goes back to a 49ers trip to Cabo years ago. The tight end was talking about a golf outing that included both families and a few drinks, when a playful exchange with Kyle Shanahan escalated into a moment that sounded more like a backyard dare than a coach-player relationship.
For San Francisco, stories like that are part of the backdrop to a season that always seems to carry a little extra personality under Shanahan and Kittle. The same article also circles back to the roster picture, including Dre Greenlaws emotional return to the facility and the buzz around Jacob Cowing as a potential camp standout, but the Kittle anecdote is the kind of thing that reminds you how loose and human this group can be before the real football starts. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Camp Absences Suddenly Put Early Week 1 Focus On Four Names
The 49ers first week of training camp already has a different feel because of the names sitting out and the roster shuffling around them. General manager John Lynch said the team waived undrafted rookie tight end Khalil Dinkins with a non-football injury designation and brought in Tanner McLachlan, a 2024 sixth-round pick most recently with the Bengals, while defensive tackle Evan Anderson is expected to be released once a corresponding move is made.
More pressing for San Francisco is the group starting camp on the active/PUP list, with George Kittle, Isaac Guerendo, Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins all set to begin on the sideline. Lynch said Kittles rehab is coming along tremendously and that he is doing everything possible to be ready for Week 1, while Williams is also making every effort to be available for the opener even if that remains uncertain. [Read more 🡒]
5 Young 49ers Could Force Their Way Into Camp Battles
Training camp has a way of turning depth-chart guesses into real competition, and the 49ers have a handful of young players who could make that happen before the pads even come on. Jordan James, Jacob Cowing, Romello Height, Kurtis Rourke and Ephesians Prysock all arrive with different paths, but the same basic challenge: show enough early to make the staff keep them in the conversation for roles that are still very much up for grabs.
For some, the opening is obvious. Cowing can help himself on special teams even before he proves more as a receiver, while Height is the kind of edge presence the 49ers have been searching for in the right situation. Rourke is trying to stand out in a quarterback room that already has established names, and Prysock has a chance to make life interesting in the secondary. James, meanwhile, is in the middle of a backfield race that could be decided by who looks most ready when camp starts sorting out the pecking order. [Read more 🡒]