The San Francisco 49ers’ Week 1 defense could look a little different than anticipated.
When strong safety Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL in Week 11 last season it appeared he might be able to return in time for the start of the 2024 campaign. The expectation entering training camp was that he’d be able to return at some point during the preseason. That’s now been thrown into flux.
Despite a recent positive update from a doctor visit, Hufanga isn’t going to return for practice leading up to the preseason finale according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. There’s hope Hufanga could still play in the season opener, but his number of days to practice and ramp up for the season are quickly dwindling.
The preseason finale is Friday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. If Hufanga can return for the practices during the final week of August, he may get enough work in that the team is comfortable lining him up Week 1.
However, if there’s any delay and he can’t get on the field before Week 1 practices begin the following week, the team could opt to hold him out until he’s able to get a handful of sessions in where he can ramp up and really test his surgically-repaired knee.
The good news for the 49ers is veteran George Odum has filled in nicely for Hufanga on the first-team defense in camp this year. That means San Francisco won’t need to rush the 2022 All-Pro back to action.
They may not want to rely on a full season of Odum as a starting safety, but he’s certainly acquitted himself well enough for the team to feel good about starting him to open the season.