After rupturing a ligament in his knee in November of last year, San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga fully engaged in practice and might be ready to play this week.
Hufanga missed the remainder of the previous season after he suffered an ACL injury during a victory over Tampa Bay on November 19. During training camp, he was placed on the physically unable to perform list; however, on August 27, the Niners reduced their roster to 53 players, and he was activated.
He missed the first two games of the season and has not practiced much in the last two weeks. Now, if there are no setbacks this week, he is anticipated to make his season debut on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, providing the Niners with a much-needed boost.
In the stands, coach Kyle Shanahan remarked on Wednesday, “You always miss Huf.” The big-play potential, the communication skills, and the sideline-to-sideline speed. We will be quite excited. Should all go according to plan, he should return this week. He has been missed.
San Francisco selected Hufanga in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He began his career primarily playing on special teams before making his way into the defense around the end of his rookie campaign.
After that, he was named an All-Pro in his second season and was once again playing well prior to his injury, with 52 tackles and three interceptions in his previous campaign.
Following Hufanga’s injury, the defense faltered a little bit, allowing 4.4 more points per game and 0.24 more yards per play.
The All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner stated, “We missed him a lot.” “He may be a young player, but he has a lot of leadership potential in that room. For me, it is really important that he has a voice in the background shouting out the checks and warning everyone—including myself. It relieves me of a lot of things. Glad to see him back on the scene.
