Ideal fill-in for Malik Mustapha is on a silver platter for the 49ers to sign

The news for each NFL team in the hours after a draft is complete is typically rooted in the undrafted rookies they have signed and how they might fit into battles for roster spots. With no games played since early January, and thus no injury reports required, the San Francisco 49ers somehow kept a notable injury under wraps for almost four months.

On Saturday night, ESPN's Nick Wagoner and Adam Schefter reported Niners safety Malik Mustapha suffered a torn ACL during the 2024 season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. The second-year safety is, of course, unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2025 season after having surgery. An MRI revealed a graft from his previous ACL tear in 2022 while playing for Wake Forest had torn.

Per Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group, San Francisco confirmed Mustapha's injury and the surgery on Saturday night.

The 49ers' selection of safety Marques Sigle in the fifth round of the draft was immediately interesting based on his athletic testing numbers. Now there's an extra layer of intrigue, with the Kansas State product seemingly in line for a big role to start the season.

An ideal replacement for Malik Mustapha is right there for the 49ers to sign

The Niners have been all about cost-cutting this offseason, and they mostly sat out of free agency. But there are opportunities to sign free agents after the draft, and those signings do not impact the compensatory draft pick formula. And they naturally come cheaper than they would have in March.

In the wake of the news about Mustapha, Cory Woodroof of For The Win offered San Francisco as a post-draft free-agent landing spot for veteran safety Justin Simmons:

"With the news that 49ers safety Malik Mustapha isn't expected to be ready for the season because of a torn ACL, Simmons would be the perfect short-term replacement for San Francisco until Mustapha is ready to reassume his role in the starting lineup. Simmons could fill a key veteran leadership role on the back end and give the 49ers excellent depth at the position once Mustapha is healthy. He could even play as a third safety."

Simmons didn't sign with the Atlanta Falcons until August last year, so this is the second straight offseason the two-time Pro Bowler has lingered available longer than it seems he should. His Pro Football Focus grades have been in decline, but he had a fairly productive season for the Falcons last year (62 total tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, 81.9 passer rating allowed in his coverage).

On the Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams earlier this month, Simmons said he wants to play for a contender and pointed to the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals as teams he'd like to play for. So, beyond any question about money/asking price, there's the answer to why he's still available.

Right or wrong, he's being selective. But the options he wants most may not exist.

The 49ers have known about Mustapha's injury for months, and they've done very little about it up to this point.

If Simmons hasn't been on their radar as a possible veteran fill-in, he should be now, and after the draft is a prime time to make a viable (i.e., not a low-ball) offer.