With the San Francisco 49ers losing standout safety Talanoa Hufanga at the start of free agency to the Denver Broncos, and only having Malik Mustapha and Ji’Ayir Brown as adequate starting options on the roster.
The 49ers signed veteran safeties Richie Grant and Jason Pinnock to one-year deals. San Fran hopes Grant and Pinnock can provide some depth in the secondary, but also start if needed this season, especially with Mustapha and Brown both banged up.
Mustapha will reportedly miss the start of this season as he recovers from a right knee injury involving his ACL. Meanwhile, Brown will be sidelined until the beginning of training camp in July because of an offseason ankle procedure.
With that being said, it opens up opportunities for Pinnock to get more reps with the first-team defense in mandatory minicamp and possibly in training camp. However, the veteran safety did not look good during the 49ers’ first week of OTAs, per Grant Cohn of SI.com.
"Started next to Richie Grant, and the two of them gave up multiple deep catches down the middle -- one to Jordan Watkins and one to Brayden Willis. If these two start Week 1, the 49ers will have the worst starting safeties in the NFL."
If you are a 49ers fan, you don’t like to hear that Pinnock allowed multiple deep catches in a practice setting, as their job is to keep things in front of them. We didn’t receive another update on Pinnock during the 49ers’ second week of OTAs, but Grant looked better, which is a win that the fanbase will take.
As for Pinnock, the 25-year-old is coming off an interesting season with the Giants. In his last year in New York, the veteran defensive back had 85 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, three sacks, and a pass deflection.
Pinnock had a 70.3 completion percentage allowed on targets, but a relatively high 135.9 pass rating allowed when targeted. He also gave up four receiving touchdowns (most in his career).
The veteran defensive back’s PFF grades weren’t much better last year with the Giants. He had a 59.5 run defense grade (135th among 171 eligible safeties), but a poor 45.5 coverage grade (145th).
Even though he was a full-time starter for the last two seasons in New York, Pinnock might be better off as a backup safety.
If you are defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, the hope is that the vet plays better in mandatory minicamp and training camp. Whenever Mustapha and Brown come back, one has to believe that Pinnock and Grant will get some snaps in the secondary. And with the cornerback spot still in flux, the safety position needs to be playing at a high level.