49ers Provide Encouraging Update on Talanoa Hufanga

It won't be too long for Talanoa Hufanga to start participating in practice with the 49ers.

Nov 12, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) during the warm ups before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports / Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

Former All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga has yet to partake in practice with the San Francisco 49ers.

Hufanga is working his way back from a torn ACL, so extreme caution is needed for him. That caution will start to ease up soon as the 49ers provided an encouraging update on Hufanga on Friday. He recently had a visit with his doctor for a routine checkup on his knee.

It was good. I think he got back late last night," said Kyle Shanahan on Hufanga's checkup. "He cleared him for the next steps, which is that we can push him a little bit harder. Not against players, but more football stuff and those type of dynamic cuts and everything. Hopefully he has a real good week of it and we can talk about easing him into practice.”

This is excellent news for Hufanga. He takes another step towards getting closer to being a full participant. It's all about taking forward steps for him and not backwards. The last thing he needs is a setback, which so far hasn't occurred. He's bouncing back well from the looks of things.

As encouraging as this update is, I think it essentially solidifies that he will not be ready for Week 1 against the New York Jets. In fact, I wouldn't anticipate him returning until Oct. just because it gives him well over a month to get used to athletic movement on the field.

With Hufanga likely out, the 49ers will turn to either rookie Malik Mustapha or George Odum to start alongside Ji'Ayir Brown. The 49ers usually don't start rookies. They prefer to go with the veteran player, so I expect Odum to get the nod unless Mustapha continues to impress Shanahan in the preseason games.

The second game of the preseason against the New Orleans Saints will be Mustapha's time to shine. Even if he doesn't get the starting role, he'll at least prove that he is worthy of some snaps on defense, which will prove beneficial in the long run.