Niners Nation
San Francisco recently added two veteran safeties amid injuries at the position.
The San Francisco 49ers had a quiet trade deadline, but one of their more notable moves was adding safety Tashaun Gipson to their practice squad with the intention of elevating him to the active roster when ready.
Gipson, 34, had been with the 49ers in each of the past two seasons, serving as a full-time starter in both years as a stable piece in the secondary. But, he had a six-game suspension to start the year, while San Francisco went younger, starting Talanoa Hufanga and Ji’Ayir Brown, while drafting rookie Malik Mustapha.
However, injuries have hurt San Francisco, as Hufanga has dealt with a variety of issues, while Mustapha has been in and out as well, leading to some inconsistent play at the position overall.
With Gipson in the building, as well as recent veteran signee Adrian Amos, how do the 49ers view their safeties currently, particularly their younger players?
“No one is perfect, period, but when the guys are young and the one thing that’s cool about them that you guys ask about them and that I say weekly, is that they do get better and they learn every week,” defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said about his young safety duo. “And even with [Ji’Ayir Brown] Tig, he came in midway through the season, so really he’s kind of played a year now. So he is a young safety, I’m glad you say it like that, but he’s played a lot of ball too.
“I think those guys have accelerated their growth, they care a lot. They continue to communicate well, but it’s not perfect. And I think getting a lot of young guys playing time early, even early in the season when we were kind of rotating some guys has really, it’s starting to pay the dividends and that’s where you see them making plays. They’re feeling more confident and that’s been good.”
But, there is an expectation for Gipson to play and potentially in a big role, as Sorensen acknowledged the impact of the signing ahead of Week 10.
“I think it’s huge. He started for us the last two years. He’s a great dude,” Sorensen said about the Gipson signing. “He’s played a ton of ball. He’s taken it, like 33 career picks. He’s had a ton of success and he is a great guy. And just having him back, I think everyone was real excited to see him. I think he’s excited to be here and be back and feel like he didn’t leave. We’re just excited to have him back, see how he feels. He hasn’t done a whole lot, so we’ll just kind of figure it out as we go.”
Even though the 49ers have thought about changes at the position, there has still been development with the younger guys at safety, as both Brown and Mustapha are thinking quicker and playing freer as a result.
“The more that we can let...
