The San Francisco 49ers filled an important need on Tuesday, signing kicker Matthew Wright to a one-year deal. With second-year pro Jake Moody battling a high ankle sprain and the team on a short week, the 49ers held expeditious tryouts and put pen to paper with Wright ahead of team travel to Seattle on Wednesday. Wright has spent time with several organizations since 2020 including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers.
Injury Updates to the Secondary and the Next Man Up
As San Francisco quickly turns the page on their Week 5 loss, they'll have to contend with a number of injuries, especially in the secondary. Head coach Kyle Shanahan shared that starting safety Talanoa Hufanga tore several ligaments in his wrist and will miss "at least a month," making Injured Reserve a possibility for the fourth-year pro. Hufanga recently completed the comeback from ACL injury and appeared in two games, in Weeks 3 and 5, before suffering this new injury to his wrist.
Second-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (knee) were both limited participants in Tuesday's workout after getting banged up versus the Arizona Cardinals. With the safeties down a starter, the team will look to rookie Malik Mustapha, who got his first start against the New England Patroits, to continue take on a bigger role in the defense. Mustapha logged 100 percent of the defensive snaps in Week 4 and following the injury to Hufanga, added 47 snaps (81 percent of defensive snaps) in Week 5.
"I feel like I'm getting more comfortable with the reps these past few weeks, and the game is starting to slow down for me," Mustapha said. "Now, it's about, 'How I can take my game to the next level by being more consistent.' The guys, even though I am a rookie, the coaching staff and my teammates have enough faith in me, and I have to have that same faith in myself to execute at a high level."
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner spoke to the rookie safety's development in this early part of the season.
"He's been great. I've spoken on it a couple times," Warner said. "I love Malik. I love the way that he plays. Kyle (Shanahan) talks about zero hesitation and playing with his hair on fire. I really like the way that he has been playing."
