The 49ers just might be able to keep Talanoa Hufanga after all.

For the past two years, they seemed to be under the assumption that they couldn’t afford to re-sign Hufanga in 2025 because he was an All Pro in 2022, and All Pro safeties make more than $15 million per season. And the 49ers never have spent that much money on a safety since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have been with the organization.

That’s why the 49ers traded up to draft safety Ji’Ayir Brown in Round 3 last year and took safety Malik Mustapha in Round 4 this year. They want to be covered at the position if/when Hufanga leaves next year.

So far this season, Mustapha looks promising. But Brown has been a massive disappointment — he’s having the dreaded sophomore slump. And there’s no way to know if he’ll bounce back.

Which brings us back to Hufanga. Suddenly, he’s not nearly as expensive as the 49ers thought he would be at this point in his career. That’s because he missed half of last season with a torn ACL and has missed most of this season with a wrist injury. So he hasn’t played much since his All Pro season of 2022. And 2022 was a while ago.

It’s possible the 49ers could re-sign Hufanga to a one-year deal this offseason as he looks to get healthy and regain his status as a premier safety in the NFL. And they absolutely should re-sign him to a one-year deal if he’ll take it. Because he’s so much better than the safeties they have.