Kicker Matthew Wright lands in The Bay, Talanoa Hufanga injury update

The San Francisco 49ers filled a key need on Tuesday, signing kicker Matthew Wright to a one-year contract. With second-year pro Jake Moody dealing with a severe ankle sprain and the team needing just a short week, the 49ers held quick tryouts and sat down with Wright before the team traveled to Seattle on Wednesday. Wright has spent time with multiple organizations since 2020, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers.

Injury updates for the Second Man Up and Next Man Up

As San Francisco quickly puts their Week 5 loss behind them, they are dealing with a number of injuries, particularly in the secondary. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said starting safety Talanoa Hufanga has torn multiple ligaments in his wrist and will be out for “at least a month,” making injury reserve a possibility for the fourth-year pro. Hufanga recently made his comeback from an ACL injury, appearing in two games in Weeks 3 and 5 before suffering this new wrist injury.

Second-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (knee) were both limited participants in Tuesday's practice after suffering a hit against the Arizona Cardinals. With no safeties left in the starting lineup, the team will hope that rookie Malik Mustapha, who made his first start against the New England Patriots, continues to take on a larger role on defense. Mustapha logged 100 percent of defensive snaps in Week 4 and added 47 snaps (81 percent of defensive snaps) in Week 5 after Hufanga's injury.

“I feel like I've gotten more comfortable with the reps over the last few weeks and the game is starting to slow down for me,” Mustapha said. “Now it's about how I can take my game to the next level by being more consistent. “The guys, even though I'm a freshman, the coaching staff and my teammates have enough trust in me, and I need that same trust have in myself to be successful at a high level.

All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner spoke about the rookie safety's development early in the season.

“He was great. I’ve talked about it a few times,” Warner said. “I love Malik. I love the way he plays. Kyle (Shanahan) talks about not being able to hesitate and playing with his hair on fire. I really like the way he played.”