Safety may be the 49ers’ biggest problem spot heading into 2026, and the front office didn’t do much to ease that concern. That puts a lot of attention on Malik Mustapha, a player who looked like a real find as a rookie before his second season turned uneven.
Mustapha, the 2024 fourth-round pick, brought the kind of pop the 49ers wanted to see early on. He played with force, showed real strength against the run and looked like he could become a difference-maker. Then came the torn ACL that ended his rookie year, and 2025 never quite looked the same.
The numbers tell the story. In 2024, Mustapha allowed a 44.4 passer rating when targeted, with one touchdown surrendered.
In 2025, that jumped to 116.9 with four touchdowns allowed. His missed tackles also ticked up, another sign that something wasn’t fully right.
He was on the field for only 12 games last season, starting 10, and the coverage drop-off was stark. He allowed completions on 66.7 percent of targets in 2025, up from 35.0 percent as a rookie, while his yards per completion allowed rose from 11.9 to 15.0.
Of course, Mustapha wasn’t operating in ideal conditions. He and Ji’Ayir Brown were playing behind a pass rush that produced a league-low 20 sacks, which left the secondary exposed for longer stretches than it should have been.
Still, the broader picture is hard to ignore: a player who looked like a promising day-three steal suddenly looked more like a question mark.
That’s why training camp matters so much here. Players coming back from ACL injuries often spend a full season relearning how to trust the knee, and for a safety, that process is even tougher. The position demands sudden cuts, quick stops, bursts of speed and constant reaction.
Now that the recovery window has passed, Mustapha should be able to show whether he’s back to full strength when camp opens. If he’s moving cleanly, changing direction sharply and looking like himself again, that will say a lot.
The 49ers are also hoping a better pass rush helps lighten the load on the back end. If that happens, Mustapha should be able to play more on instinct and less under siege.
So when practices begin, especially once the pads come on, Mustapha will be one of the most important players to watch. Training camp should tell the 49ers plenty about whether his 2025 season was a setback or just the middle chapter of a rebound.
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 🡒]