The 49ers will get a key defender back in time for their Week 6 matchup with the Buccaneers. The team announced that it has activated safety Malik Mustapha from the reserve/PUP list.
Mustapha will return to the field on Sunday for the first time since he suffered a right ACL injury in Week 18 last year. That was a sour ending to an impressive rookie season for Mustapha. The former Wake Forest defender played in 16 games (12 starts) and totaled 72 tackles, five passes defensed, and an interception in 2024.
Without Mustapha (and several other injured players) around this year, the 49ers have still managed a 4-1 start. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has deployed safeties Marques Sigle and Jason Pinnock on 100 percent of snaps in Mustapha’s absence. Ji’Ayir Brown has seen action on just over 15 percent of snaps. Mustapha should reemerge as an important part of the back end of San Francisco’s defense, leading to less playing time for any or all of Sigle, Pinnock, and Brown.
More to come.