Niners Nation
Robert Saleh has familiarity with Jason Pinnock, while rookie Marques Sigle can make an impact on special teams
The San Francisco 49ers have been linked to free-agent safeties by some national analysts.
Malik Mustapha’s injury leaves Ji’Ayir Brown as the lone starter, and he was in and out of the lineup in 2024 and missed some of the offseason program with an injury. That leaves unknowns, like Richie Grant and Jason Pinnock, to start. It’s unlikely the Niners go back to George Odum on defense. It’d be surprising to see rookie Marques Sigle win a job out of the gates over a veteran.
NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco spoke about the current construction of the 49ers' safety position and why it’s unlikely a player like Simmons is brought in on his YouTube channel:
“It’s probably the one spot where people could look at and go, ‘Might the 49ers seek some help on the veteran market?’ You know, somebody like Justin Simmons. And I don’t necessarily think that’s going to be the case. Simmons remains a free agent. Certainly, he’s been out there for quite some time. If the 49ers wanted him, they could certainly go get him. I would think, though, that they would wait until training camp.
And I would think that Justin Simmons would wait until training camp at this point to kind of see where he has his best fit, potentially with a team that’s a contender that would need a safety. And I think the 49ers are more than likely right now comfortable with their safety position just because of how they expected the health situation of their team to shake out.”
Names like Marcus Williams, Justin Simmons, Jordan White, and Julian Blackmon are all available. The 49ers have brought in some veterans during previous offseasons, while Whitehead and Pinnock have played under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. That’s the free agent pool the Niners would pick from if they feel their current cast of safeties isn’t cutting it a week or two into training camp.
As Maiocco points out, Mustapha and Brown’s health situation should resolve itself. So, bringing in a veteran when they’d only play for a few weeks might not make the most sense financially.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see what type of player starts alongside Brown. Maiocco believes it’ll be Pinnock:
Another, the other guy that I think is going to be a starter when the season begins is Jason Pinnock. The 49ers feel like they got him at a really god price, a one-year deal, $2.2 million. Now, Pinnock is somebody that entered the NFL as a draft pick of Robert Saleh and the New York Jets. He played for the Jets his rookie season, and then in August of year two, he gets released (waived, I should say). Robert Saleh told him, ‘If you clear waivers, we would love you back on the practice squad.’ He did not clear waivers. The New York Giants claimed...
