Malik Mustapha One Step Closer To Taking Over As Full-time Starter With 49ers

Malik Mustapha one step closer to taking over as full-time starter with 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Safety Malik Mustapha made his season debut Sunday while mixing into the action in the 49ers’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now, Mustapha is another step closer to taking over as the 49ers’ full-time starter.

“He got about 20 plays and he looked good and moved around, flew around,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He was ready for that moment, and I liked that we were able to get him in there, do all that stuff and get him out healthy. Hopefully, it’ll be closer to that this week.”

Mustapha appears likely to be back in the starting lineup when the 49ers return to action in Week 7 to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.

But who is going to start alongside him is another question.

Veteran Jason Pinnock and rookie Marques Sigle started the 49ers’ first five games of the season. The 49ers made a lineup change on Sunday in Tampa with Ji’Ayir Brown replacing Pinnock in the starting lineup.

Brown played the entire game. Sigle and Mustapha split time at the other spot. Pinnock did not see any playing time on defense in the 49ers’ 30-19 loss.

“We thought Ji’Ayir Brown had been earning some time at safety and we knew with Mustapha coming back, we were going to start rotating and getting Mustapha in there so he could eventually take that over,” Shanahan said.

“We know Mustapha is going to be one of the starters out there. It was nothing against Jason. We just knew we had to make a decision to rotate one of those guys with Mustapha and we went with rotating Mustapha and Sigle.”

Mustapha registered two tackles while playing 21 snaps. He spent the first five games of the season on the physically unable to perform list while going through physical therapy following January surgery to repair an ACL graft in his right knee.

A fourth-round pick from Wake Forest, Mustapha started 12 games for the 49ers as a rookie. He had 72 tackles, one interception and five passes broken up.

The 49ers’ pass defense has been lacking this season. The opposition is completing 67.9 percent of its pass attempts with 10 touchdowns, no interceptions and a combined passer rating of 104.7.

On Sunday, Baker Mayfield completed 17 of 23 attempts for 256 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions to lead the Buccaneers to the victory.

Mustapha’s starting spot appears set for the remainder of the season. Brown, Sigle and Pinnock are the candidates to fill the other job in the 49ers’ defensive backfield.

“I think we’ve got three guys who are capable, and those are what all those three guys are battling for,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think one guy’s fully taken it and run with it like Mustapha did last year.

“So that’s something that we’re going to continue to evaluate.”

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