SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers welcomed two key pieces of their secondary back to practice this week. Safety Talanoa Hufanga , an All-Pro in 2022, and cornerback Isaac Yiadom have returned to the fold in at least a limited capacity.
Yiadom had been dealing with an ankle injury throughout the back half of camp. Hufanga tore his ACL last November. Talanoa Hufanga back at 49ers practice pic.
twitter.com/I9cAYb81u9 — David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 29, 2024 Hufanga won’t necessarily start right out of the gate. He participated in only individual drills during his first two practices back.
The 49ers hope to escalate Hufanga’s involvement when they reconvene following the Labor Day weekend, but they’ve insulated the roster so that they don’t have to rush any part of the process. Advertisement “He’s working his way back,” 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said Thursday. “It’s just great to see him out there, to get pads on and have a helmet on and go through individual.
Really excited for him. He’s really worked his butt off. Hearing how he’s gone through this process, I’m not surprised just because of who he is.
I think everybody involved with it — but him primarily — the way that he worked to get back to this, it’s exciting and really happy for him.” GO DEEPER 49ers 53-man roster analysis: Talanoa Hufanga comes off PUP; still waiting on Trent Williams The 49ers re-signed veteran safety Tracy Walker III , who spent the past six seasons with the Detroit Lions before joining the 49ers during training camp, to the practice squad after Tuesday’s 53-man roster cutdown. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Walker signed with the intention of being called up for Week 1 — a sign that the 49ers anticipate needing an extra safety against the New York Jets .
The team is deeper at the position, though, than it was when undergoing a similar shuffle before Week 1 two years ago. Jimmie Ward , who was slated to start at safety entering the 2022 season, suffered a preseason hamstring injury that ended up sidelining him for the opener. The 49ers reacted by signing veteran Tashaun Gipson Sr.
, who ended up starting the next two seasons for them at the position (Ward moved to nickelback following his return to health). Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations & everything you need to know to win your fantasy football league. Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations.
This season, the 49ers likely won’t call on Walker to start even if Hufanga is unavailable. But he certainly might fortify a position that’s seen Ji’Ayir Brown and George Odum take most of this month’s first-team snaps. Recently, after Odum rolled his ankle during warmups of the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders , rookie Malik Mustapha joined Brown on the first team.
Mustapha, an avid film junkie who has studied the old playing tape of his general manager John Lynch and who recently met 49ers Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott, has been particularly excited about this week’s new chance to work with Hufanga on the practice field. GO DEEPER 49ers are enjoying rookie maturity from DBs Malik Mustapha and Renardo Green “His communication is awesome,” Mustapha said in the locker room Thursday. “We only don’t play sound football when we’re not talking.
The big thing is that being able to communicate at a high level is how we’re able to fly around and make plays, and with (Hufanga), he’s always over-talking. He’s always talking about who’s moving, what the offense is doing, how can it affect our defense, how can it affect our coverage.” Advertisement “So as a rookie, I’m taking that approach to the season.
That’s going to help us keep elevating.” The 49ers’ fortification of talent elsewhere in the secondary should also help. The team added aggressively to the cornerback room this offseason, signing Yiadom and veteran Rock Ya-Sin before using a second-round draft pick on Florida State’s Renardo Green .
Isaac Yiadom is back, too pic.twitter.com/v19WNiuFrR — David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 29, 2024 Yiadom’s return to health means the 49ers are set up with an imposing frontline entering the opening showdown against star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward led the NFL with 24 passes defended last season, while Yiadom — who started only about half the season for the New Orleans Saints — finished ranked No. 12 with 14 passes defended. Yiadom’s addition means the 49ers will be able to confidently move Deommodore Lenoir to slot cornerback in nickel packages.
That’s a luxury the 49ers didn’t have last season. Although Lenoir played his share of nickel over the season, the 49ers avoided moving him there for the Super Bowl — deeming his presence at outside cornerback to be too important. That should change in 2024 given this new collection of talent.
“It’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been a part of,” Ward said Thursday. “We’ve got good depth from the starters to the guys coming off the bench. They’re loading up for the now and for the future as well.
Everybody has to step up their game this year and hopefully, we’ll have the best secondary in the league.” Odds & ends • There didn’t appear to be any significant changes to the 49ers’ participation report on Thursday. The contractual saga of receiver Brandon Aiyuk continues; he again missed practice.
Fellow receiver Jauan Jennings (oblique), linebacker Dee Winters (ankle) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) also were not present during the portion of practice open to the media. GO DEEPER Kawakami: A dramatic 49ers-Brandon Aiyuk showdown and the signs of a break-up in progress • The 49ers officially signed receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. , a former second-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers , and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn to their practice squad.
That means the practice squad is now full, although the 49ers are still hoping to make at least one more signing that would require a corresponding move. If defensive end Sam Okuayinonu , who was cut from the 53-man roster a day after the cutdown, clears waivers, the 49ers intend to re-sign him to the practice squad. But there’s not an overt rush on that end because the team doesn’t practice again until after the holiday.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. document.querySelectorAll(".
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setAttribute("style", "pointer-events: none;");}) Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. • Here’s a quick salary-cap check-in following the roster cutdown and the signing of the practice squad: The 49ers have about $16 million of 2024 space left. This gives them flexibility to execute in-season maneuvers and potentially even absorb a larger contract via trade, if such an opportunity arises.
Advertisement But the team is certainly considering the big picture, especially as standoffs with Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams continue. Unused 2024 cap space will carry over into 2025 when the 49ers currently have nearly $260 million in liabilities with only 31 players under contract — and a massive negotiation with quarterback Brock Purdy likely looming. • The 49ers Foundation raised just over $1 million at Thursday night’s Players for a Purpose event, which was held on the field at Levi’s Stadium.
Money raised through the event will help fund education efforts for underserved Bay Area youth. During the auction portion of the event, second-year 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. donated $10,000.
Several of his teammates soon followed suit with donations at lower levels of the auction. (Photo of Talanoa Hufanga: Megan Briggs / Getty Images).
