The 49ers dealt with a multitude of injuries throughout the 2024 season, and one more has just come to light.
Safety Malik Mustapha injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Week 18, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, which required surgery and a lengthy recovery that could stretch into the 2025 season. The 2024 fourth-rounder previously tore the same ACL in college; this injury was a tear to the graft from the reparative procedure in 2022. It is not believed to have impacted other parts of his knee.
Mustapha is progressing well through his rehab process at the 49ers’ team facility, but he is unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2025 season. He returned from his January 2022 injury to play 10 games in the 2023 college football season, indicating that he should have a chance at a midseason return to the field this fall.
The 49ers’ will need to replace the 756 snaps Mustapha played as a rookie, primarily at free safety. They drafted two defensive backs this weekend – Western Kentucky’s Upton Stout and Kansas State’s Marques Sigle – but both spent most of their time in the slot in college. Instead, veterans Richie Grant, Jason Pinnock, George Odum could start the season at safety alongside 2023 third-rounder Ji’Ayir Brown.
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