Kyle Shanahan quip shows just how bleak the 49ers’ injury outlook is

The 49ers’ options at safety are running so thin for the team that they might have to turn to the Hall of Famer in their front office for help, head coach Kyle Shanahan joked.

Shanahan shared a rather bleak injury report for San Francisco’s secondary on Wednesday, just two days after arguably the worst loss of the season. Starting safety Ji’Ayir Brown has a knee sprain that would have kept him out of practice if the 49ers had one (the team held a walk-through instead of practice), and cornerback Ambry Thomas is dealing with injuries to his knee and hand. This is on top of already losing Talanoa Hufanga, another starting safety, for the season after he suffered a torn ACL last month.

When a reporter asked Shanahan what his remaining options were, the coach ran through the ways he can shuffle players into the safety position for the remainder of the season. He said he’d start with bringing in practice squad players, moving cornerbacks into the safety spot for depth and even putting linebackers if everyone in the secondary went down. Shanahan then joked that they could dip into the front office for help, with current Niners general manager and Hall of Fame safety John Lynch.

While he was obviously joking, the Niners aren’t too far away from the more desperate options Shanahan laid out. If Brown’s injury holds on throughout the week, that leaves the Niners with just one safety who began the season with the team: Tashaun Gipson Sr. His backup, Logan Ryan, was called in during a vacation on a cruise a couple weeks ago. Even the team’s options to move corners to safety have dwindled with Thomas’ injury, though the fact that he was marked as limited on Wednesday is a positive sign for his outlook later this week.

The Niners have a formidable defense, but it’s a pretty top-heavy squad. Once the starters fall, the guys behind them aren’t always capable of picking up the slack, particularly in the secondary — it’s worth noting that other defensive stalwarts like Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave are hurt too. Case in point, the team had Jason Verrett play Sunday against the Ravens despite being signed to the practice squad only two weeks ago. His veteran experience only went so far without proper practice as he gave up a touchdown during one of the five snaps he played. 

Shanahan might have invoked Lynch’s name as a joking last resort, but even the potential players who would suit up before the fake scenario might not be a whole lot better.