The San Francisco 49ers are likely going to have to count upon third-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown a lot in 2025, especially early.
The 2023 third-round NFL Draft pick impressed down the stretch his rookie season, even starting in the Super Bowl, which gave the Niners reason to believe he'd be their long-term option to patrol the very back end of the defense.
2024, however, wasn't quite as promising, and the former Penn State defensive back found himself riding the bench as the year came to a close, thanks largely to the quick ascent of then-rookie safety Malik Mustapha.
Entering 2025, there's plenty of uncertainty regarding Brown's future.
But there's also a lot of opportunity for him, too.
Unique context opens up door for Ji'Ayir Brown to bounce back in 2025
A primary reason why Brown saw plenty of field time late his rookie season was due to then-starting safety Talanoa Hufanga suffering a torn ACL halfway through the year.
Hufanga is gone now, off to the Denver Broncos, removing one potential obstacle to Brown's reemergence.
However, Mustapha suffered his own torn ACL to close out the 2024 season, meaning he'll likely be shelved on the physically unable-to-perform (PUP) list to open up the 2025 campaign, thereby opening the door wider for Brown to reassert himself atop the safety depth chart.
Granted, San Francisco responded to the news by selecting Kansas State defensive back Marques Sigle on day three of April's draft, and the offseason free-agent pickups of Jason Pinnock and Richie Grant also crowd the safety room.
But, none of those three new faces should be viewed as clear-cut upgrades over Brown just yet.
In effect, at least until Mustapha returns, the starting gig is Brown's to lose.
Brown, too, is dealing with an ankle injury and subsequent procedure that'll keep him out until training camp. Assuming he's 100 percent by late July, though, it'll be interesting to see if he can reclaim what once seemed to be a shoo-in job.
His future with the 49ers might depend on it.