Renardo Green should demand to play more amid 49ers' recent struggles

Entering Week 12, the San Francisco 49ers most likely did not expect to be at 5-5 after their first 10 games.

They have struggled at times and landed on the short end on several close games. Week 11, for example, was another instance when the Niners lost by three points against an NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks.

In fact, all three losses against division opponents have been by three points or less. San Francisco blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter on the road against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 and dropped the Week 5 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals after giving up 14 unanswered points after halftime.

The 49ers offense has still looked sharp for the most part, at least outside of the red zone. They are racking up the second most yards a game in the league with just under 400 a contest.

So, why not try something new on defense then?

49ers must let Renardo Green see the field at all times

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has often strayed from featuring his rookies heavily in contrast to most teams.

Last season, Shanahan let his rookies play in 1,760 different snaps across all 17 games. Safety Ji'Ayir Brown accounted for a good amount of those with 554 himself. Brown, a third-round pick in 2023 out of Penn State, finished his first-year campaign with a pair of interceptions and four passes defended. He already has that many pass breakups in 2024 and has claimed the starting free safety role, too.

Another rookie could follow a Brown-type of journey in 2024, provided Shanahan calls for No. 0 in the secondary more, cornerback Renardo Green.

Green, a 2024 second-round pick out of Florida State, is technically listed as the backup behind veteran corner Charvarius Ward. When the latter missed time, due to the tragic passing of his young daughter, the rookie was the one called upon to plug the void.

Ward is in his seventh season and third with San Francisco. On top of that, the veteran defender is in the final season of his three-year deal, meaning he's likely heading to free agency this upcoming offseason.

Providing more snaps to Green could be a wise and beneficial move for the 49ers this year and in others to come, giving the rookie valuable experience he can use in subsequent campaigns.

Green has as many passes defended as Ward (five), with five this year, and the former also boasted 28 tackles and a forced fumble through 11 weeks.

San Francisco's opponent in Week 12, the Green Bay Packers, has a top-five offense in terms of yards gained a game, and they rack up a lot of their yards on the ground, as opposed to the 49ers doing so by the air.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love has thrown for 16 touchdowns so far but also has 11 interceptions, throwing at least one pick every game he's played in this season. Love has two games this year with at least two interceptions, and both of those came at Lambeau Field.

The 49ers travel to Green Bay to play there this weekend.

Both the Niners and the Packers' defenses rank in the top 10 for most interceptions.

Perhaps it's time to "green light" some more playing time for Green, knowing there could be a golden opportunity for him to register his second pick of the year and help San Francisco to its sixth win of the season.

Read more from Niner Noise