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49ers Will be Without Talanoa Hufanga for a Month

Safety Talanoa Hufanga will not be seen playing for the 49ers for quite some time after his latest injury.

Jose Luis Sanchez III

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) with grass in his helmet after a play against the Arizona Cardinals during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) with grass in his helmet after a play against the Arizona Cardinals during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
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Safety Talanoa Hufanga will not be seen playing for the San Francisco 49ers for quite some time.

He sustained a wrist injury that involved ligament tears in the loss to the Cardinals. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Hufanga will be out for at least a month. The 49ers haven't placed Hufanga on Injured Reserve, but that is something they will decide soon.

The most likely outcome is that he will be placed on it given how long he will be out. This means that rookie Malik Mustapha will start in his place. Hufanga hasn't played well since he returned from his torn ACL. He's been missing tackles and taking poor angles to attack runners.

His worst play of the season by far was against the Cardinals on Kyler Murray's touchdown run. Hufanga stormed downhill on a straight line and completely missed the angle to defend Murray. He looked like he did that to get some cardio rather than defending the play. The allowed touchdown isn't his fault, but he certainly played a role in it.

Mustapha can possibly bring stability and provide an upgrade. However, he hasn't been sharp either. His weakest trait that needs to improve immediately is tackling. Every game he has an atrocious whiff. It is like watching a kid playing peewee football for the first time and learning how to tackle.

He needs to clean that up or the 49ers' defense will be in trouble. Veteran George Odum is another option for the 49ers if they lose confidence in Mustapha, but they are better off riding with the rookie. Either way, the safety position has been underperforming for the 49ers. Ji'Ayir Brown, who had a promising rookie campaign, has left much to be desired.

The 49ers will be looking to strike gold with Mustapha to hopefully hand him the starting reigns indefinitely.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

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