San Francisco 49ers rookie safety Ji'Ayir Brown had hoped to reclaim his starting role after returning from a knee injury, but veteran Logan Ryan got the nod in the playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Brown was inactive for the team's final two games of the regular season but was cleared to play in this past weekend's game.
Brown was active but did not play a snap. Instead, he watched from the sidelines as Ryan took 67 defensive snaps.
When asked about the decision to start Ryan over Brown, head coach Kyle Shanahan explained, "We knew that we kind of decided that when Ji'Ayir had missed about four weeks. I think it was two games, but he had been out four weeks. He's been awesome in practice. I love Ji'Ayir. It has nothing to do with him."
Instead, the 49ers' experience in playoff games played a role in the decision. They weren't confident that Brown's first game back should be a high-stakes playoff clash against a formidable Packers opponent.
"I think it's a lot when you got a rookie who hasn't played in a month, who is a very passionate, aggressive player," Shanahan continued. "I just don't want to put all that on him, to have him go out in the playoff game when he hasn't been out there for four weeks, especially when you have a veteran behind him who could just calm down a little bit.
"If things would've gone differently, we would've put Ji'Ayir in right away. But we don't want to do that really to Ji'Ayir."
Ryan only surrendered one catch for two yards against the Packers. However, the lone catch resulted in a touchdown scored by tight end Tucker Kraft.
What a response from Green Bay!
Tucker Kraft scores after the long kick return.
📺: #GBvsSF on FOX
— NFL (@NFL) January 21, 2024
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/yDUx5ZutVa pic.twitter.com/E0ie3pEGcS
Brown, who started five games following Talanoa Hufanga's season-ending injury, expressed disappointment in the decision to start Ryan but maintained a team-first perspective.
"I'm all for the team," Brown told reporters in the locker room on Wednesday. What Kyle thinks is best, I'm going to go with it. Whether I agree with it or not, I understand it. And me, personally, I didn't agree with it, but I understood Kyle, and I understand the mission of this team. And as long as we can get the win, and however I can help the team out, I'm all good."
That meant swallowing his pride, stepping aside, and watching Ryan continue to man his spot on Saturday night.
"Yeah, it's not personal," Brown said. "Nothing's personal. Whether you can feel that in your own chest, you know that it's personal or not, but it's nothing personal in this league. It's all about the win."
Brown clarified that he is 100 percent healthy heading into the upcoming NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions.
"The same as last week," Brown added.
