Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Tuesday, July 8th, 2025
Defensive back Jason Pinnock on why he joined 49ers, ‘ball-hawk’ plans for 2025
“In August 2022, Saleh and the Jets cut Pinnock, which left him to join the Giants. Pinnock admirably reflects fondly on the experience and embraces the cards he has been dealt.
“It was humbling,” Pinnock told Maiocco about being released. “It was humbling, but my pops is big on ‘It’s a blessing in disguise.’ I don’t think I would’ve fell into a system like with [ex-Giants defensive coordinator] Don “Wink” Martindale, where I figured out like, ‘Wow, I can blitz.’ That introduced that portion into my game.
“And then finding [current Giants defensive coordinator] Shane Bowen, knowing, ‘OK, I can diagnose and see coverages and be able to observe.’ It was a blessing in disguise, but it was tough, man.”
Pinnock made strides with the Giants. And because of them, he now has the chance to prove his worth and belonging as a key defensive back with the 49ers.
He explained to Maiocco what he aims to do during the coming season.
“Getting the ball,” Pinnock told Maioco. “I think I’ve shown I can pressure, I can tackle, good in space; I got to go show these attributes in my ball skills – you know, something that got me drafted, basically. Show people I’m a ball-hawk.”
49ers’ new ball hawk? Jason Pinnock aims for starting role and takeaways
“I think last year, for me, actually, was a good year,” Pinnock explained. “My first three, I was always the youngest. I got drafted at 20. But last year, I played with the youngest defensive back room in the league.”
That allowed Pinnock to take on more of a leadership role for the first time.
“It was definitely a lot of giving my knowledge and giving stuff in-play, pre-snap, post-snap,” he shared. “So just trying to give that to the guys here now.”
49ers’ Jason Pinnock reveals offensive teammate who is a ‘headache’ to face
“Now that he’s had some time on the practice field, Pinnock was asked what stands out as the biggest challenge when going against Shanahan’s scheme. His answer included one player who creates more problems than most.
“Just the shifts, the motions, the way they play with underneath players,” Pinnock said. “Juice (fullback Kyle Juszczyk)—oh, man, he’s a headache personnel-wise. We joked about that when I came out here for Thursday night [in 2023].”
49ers’ new edge: Bryce Huff on Nick Bosa, outlook for Mykel Williams, facing Trent Williams
“Nick’s a cool guy,” Huff recently told Brad Graham. “We chopped it up a bit during spring camp, and I just kind of watched everybody’s process, and he’s pretty dialed in, and he’s a hard worker. I’m extremely excited to get there and ball out with him…….Just playing with another dominant edge in the league, like Jermaine [Johnson] in New York, in this scheme, I know what’s possible with Nick and the amount of stuff we can cook up,” Huff continued. “By the last couple of games in New York, me and Jermaine were freestyling on the field. I just know he’s been in the scheme a long time as well, so I know he has some tricks up his sleeve.”