The San Francisco 49ers have been maneuvering as though they’ve planned to let strong safety Talanoa Hufanga walk in free agency.
Hufanga landed with the Denver Broncos in predictions from USA TODAY’s Tyler Dragon.
It’s not a huge surprise that Hufanga would wind up somewhere other than San Francisco given how their last couple of offseasons have gone. In 2023 they moved up in the third round to select Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Last year they picked another safety, Malik Mustapha, in Round 4.
That appeared to pave the way for Hufanga’s exit when his rookie contract ran out at the end of the 2024 campaign. The 2022 All-Pro will likely get priced out of what the 49ers are wanting to spend at safety, particularly with two cost-controlled draft picks on the defensive depth chart.
Seeing him go to a team that needs help in the back end of its secondary wouldn’t be a major surprise. However, the door opened a little bit for Hufanga’s return to San Francisco.
Brown struggled some in his first season as a starter, and Hufanga had some injury issues during the year. He missed the first two weeks because he was still working his way back from a torn ACL he sustained in 2023. Hufanga played in Week 3, but hurt his ankle in the lead up to Week 4 and missed that game before returning in Week 5 where he suffered a wrist injury that knocked him out until Week 14.
Hufanga acquitted himself well in limited action, and a team like the Broncos may love to bring in a former All-Pro to aid the back end of an already strong defense.