News of Malik Mustapha's injury caught San Francisco 49ers fans off guard. Following the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft, ESPN's Nick Wagoner revealed that the safety had suffered a torn ACL during the team's season finale against the Arizona Cardinals on January 5. The injury puts his availability for the start of the 2025 season in serious doubt.
Naturally, neither general manager John Lynch nor head coach Kyle Shanahan could be asked about Mustapha's status, as their post-draft press conferences had already occurred. It's also unclear why the injury wasn't disclosed earlier, such as during the team's end-of-season press conference.
San Francisco drafted a safety in the fifth round—Marques Sigle out of Kansas State. However, the team may look to add a veteran safety now that it would not be penalized in the compensatory pick formula for any free-agent addition.
Pro Football Network analyst Sterling Xie recently identified one remaining free agent each NFL team should sign following the draft. For the 49ers, he pointed to safety Chuck Clark.
"Should Mustapha miss time, the 49ers will need another option next to Ji'Ayir Brown," Xie explained. "Veterans George Odum and Jason Pinnock are probably better suited for situational roles and special teams, while asking fifth-round rookie Marques Sigle to play right away might be a stretch. As such, this could be a spot where San Francisco brings in a veteran to help with the start of the season.
"Chuck Clark was on the Jets the last two seasons, so he has familiarity with Robert Saleh's scheme. The medicals would have to check out on Clark, as he missed all of 2023 with a torn ACL and the end of 2024 with a torn pectoral (which could be part of the reason he's still unsigned). Clark turned 30 in April, so he should still have some gas in the tank and would require less of a transition to Saleh's defense than other free agent safeties."
Clark appeared in 12 games last season, recording 69 tackles (one for a loss), a sack, and two passes defensed, per Pro Football Reference. He also earned a run-defense grade of at least 70.5 in each of his last three seasons played (2024, 2022, 2021).
His coverage ability, however, may raise concerns. Opposing quarterbacks posted a 115.2 passer rating when targeting him last season, completing 12 receptions and four touchdowns on 20 targets. It's unclear how much of that performance was due to lingering effects from his injury.
Still, while Mustapha recovers, Clark could serve as a stopgap for the 49ers. And with Robert Saleh's input likely weighing heavily in any decision, Clark's familiarity with the scheme could give him an edge over other options.