Was the 49ers’ decision to bench the rookie safety the right one?

In their game against the Green Bay Packers last weekend, the San Francisco 49ers made two small adjustments to their starting lineup:

Logan Ryan, who started all 67 defensive snaps for the team, started at safety over Ji’Ayir Brown, and veteran Jon Feliciano started at right guard over Spencer Burford, having played 54 of the team’s 64 offensive snaps.

Defensively, Ryan had a difficult game.

He botched a quarters-coverage play later in the game, leaving Ambry Thomas unassisted, which lost San Francisco a big touchdown.

He also showed weak tackling on Aaron Jones’s 53-yard run close to the line of scrimmage.

Despite having only joined the squad a little over a month prior, Ryan was given the start at safety

since Brown had missed the final two weeks of the season due to a knee injury.

Shanahan stated that the 49ers chose to go with the veteran over the rookie in large part because of the time off

arguing that it would be unjust to throw the 2023 third-round pick into that kind of situation right after suffering an injury.

Regarding the choice to start Ryan over Brown, Shanahan remarked,

“We knew that we kind of decided that when Ji’Ayir had missed about four weeks.” “He had been out for four weeks, but I believe it was only two games.”

In practice, he’s been fantastic. Ji’Ayir is my favorite. It’s not related to him at all. just the knowledge that we are surrounded by playoff games.

Although Brown’s aggression has been a strength of the club this season, Shanahan benched his youngster in favor of Ryan because he believed that a veteran presence could diffuse tensions.

“I believe it’s a lot when you have a very passionate, aggressive rookie who hasn’t played in a month,”

I simply don’t want to put that much pressure on him after only four weeks of practice, only to have him play in the playoffs.

especially with an experienced opponent in tow who could just cool off a little. Had events transpired differently, Ji’Ayir would have been assigned immediately.

However, we genuinely don’t want to harm Ji’Ayir in that way.

For the first time since being benched, Brown spoke with media and expressed his candid opinion.

He acknowledged that he disagreed with the choice, but he also indicated that he was willing to follow the team’s best interests.

In reference to Logan Ryan’s starting safety predicament, Brown remarked, “I got a pretty good understanding of what was going on.

For the team, I’m all in.

I will follow Kyle’s decision if I believe it to be the best. I get it, whether I agree with it or not.

Even if I personally didn’t agree with it, I could understand Kyle and the team’s goal.

And I’m good as long as we win and I can support the squad in any way.

Though his thoughts were the same, Brown realized the action wasn’t directed personally at him.

“That’s true—it’s not personal,” Brown explained. Nothing is private.

Whether you can feel that in your own chest or not, you know it’s personal, but in this league, it doesn’t matter.

The goal is always to win.

Naturally, the decision backfired a little bit because Ryan didn’t play to his best of his abilities

raising doubts about whether the 49ers would alter their lineup before the NFC Championship Game.

Speaking on Thursday, Shanahan mentioned the veteran and the 49ers’ problems with run defense against the Packers.

He also mentioned that Brown is still a candidate at safety, though it’s unclear what his role will be against the Lions.

Overall, Shanahan said, “I think we all need to get better at running, and I know we point out Logan.”

“It is evident that Ryan has to work on his tackling technique. With that, he will become better. Ji’Ayir remains involved.

This week, we’ll see exactly how things work out and how much he plays. We’re not sure if he will start, play, or anything else.

That process is still happening at the moment.

Since Brown is still practicing, is there any chance he will play against the Lions?

Indeed, Shanahan said, “there’s a chance.”

I felt he did a great job wrapping up the week, and I expect him to be even better this week as a result.”

But if Brown misses a second straight weekend of action, it will be because of the coach’s decision rather than his injury status

because the safety has made it clear that he is a full go in that area, as it was also the case the previous weekend.

“Yes, I am 100 %. Brown stated on Wednesday, “Same as last week.”

The 49ers have the choice to alter, and it might be a better move given that controlling the pace of the game against the Lions would depend on stopping the run, particularly on the edges.

Despite the fact that Brown is a rookie without playoff experience and has an aggressive style

it makes sense to start the third-round pick Brown rather than the seasoned Ryan

who has made mistakes in the past as well, as demonstrated against the Packers.

Brown’s versatility in the run and pass games contributes to the 49ers’ aggressive defense

which has been playing well at all levels of the field in the final weeks of the season until the rookie’s injury.

Although it doesn’t seem like a change is probable right now, it will be something to keep an eye on until Sunday’s game.