The San Francisco 49ers lost safety Talanoa Hufanga in free agency to the Denver Broncos. In recent comments about why he chose the Broncos, he said something that could be interpreted as minor shade at Niners quarterback Brock Purdy.
Hufanga's comments can be viewed below:
Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw had this conversation about Bo Nix when they both signed with the Broncos:
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) May 1, 2025
"Even talking to Dre, he was my locker partner at the '9ers and then when we came here together, we were like, ‘Man, when you got a quarterback that can go out there and… pic.twitter.com/6bvftuoXeZ
If you cannot access the social media post, Hufanga says, "Even talking to Dre, he was my locker partner at the Niners and then when we came here together, we were like, ‘Man, when you got a quarterback that can go out there and really play, as a defense, you know it’s not just three and out.' There are a lot of teams like that in the NFL. So for us, it’s like, 'We got potential here.’ Why can’t we come over here and help change? He’s the reason."
A player joining a new team is almost always going to talk up their new quarterback no matter what position they play. Remember a few years ago when Davante Adams basically said that Derek Carr was a Hall of Fame quarterback after joining the Las Vegas Raiders?
Were Hufanga's comments meant to suggest that he and linebacker Dre Greenlaw departed San Francisco because Purdy is just a 3-and-out quarterback? There were certainly times last season when the 49ers struggled on offense and did not reward great performances from their defense like in a sloppy game last December when San Francisco lost 12-6 to the Los Angeles Rams.
More likely, though, Hufanga was just making a general statement that he feels lucky to be playing for a team with a competent quarterback and offense in Denver. To suggest he has escaped a situation in San Francisco where the offense never did anything would be pure lunacy, so one hopes that is not what he meant by those comments.
The 49ers will miss having Hufanga and Greenlaw on defense even though both struggled with injuries the past two seasons. At their best, the two of them were hard-hitting playmakers who constituted a key component of the team's defense.
Greenlaw is already dealing with more injury issues, and we will have to see how healthy Hufanga can stay given his injury history. If neither can stay on the field much, then it may look wise the Niners did not bring either player back.
No matter what, both had some memorable moments with the 49ers, so let's hope they do well in Denver.