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.
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.
Related News
More San Francisco 49ers News
-
Former 49ers safety issues stern warning to Ji'Ayir Brown
Former NFL safety Donte Whitner has been openly critical of San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown throughout the offseason. "You f--king know that you played like s--t last year," Whitner said in May. Brown earned career-low Pro Football Focus grades in 2025, posting a... -
49ers' Nick Bosa appears to celebrate Ryan Clark's ESPN exit
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa rarely posts on social media, but he broke his online silence this week with a reaction to ESPN parting ways with analyst Ryan Clark, the former NFL safety—seemingly celebrating the move. 👌 https://t.co/hH903xy6zy— Nick... -
49ers floated as 'team to watch' for blockbuster QB trade—but the logic has one major flaw
A feature from longtime sports journalist Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post generated plenty of buzz on Friday—not because of his evaluation of Brock Purdy, but because of one intriguing claim involving the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe... -
49ers have learned to keep secrets, but is this a good thing?
For years, the San Francisco 49ers had a reputation for being one of the easiest NFL teams to get information from. Not because the team was particularly transparent, but because information seemed to find its way out of the building. That changed in 2017. Since Kyle Shanahan...