After watching their favorite team add not one, not two, but 11 new players to their roster in the 2025 NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers fans were hit with some bad news regarding one of the true stars of the 2024 season, Malik Mustapha, who suffered an ACL injury in the regular season finale.

Now granted, as fans knew from that fateful day, Mustapha's road to recovery was going to be long, even if the 49ers wouldn't be playing for most of it, but surely he'd be ready to go in time for the 2025 NFL season, right?

Well, as it turns out, the answer is no, with Adam Schefter breaking the not-so-great news regarding the collegiate Wake Forest Demon Deacon that will put a damper on an otherwise positive weekend.

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“Delayed but significant injury news,” Schefter wrote. “49ers safety Malik Mustapha, who was believed to be the replacement for free-agent safety loss Talanoa Hufanga, tore his ACL during San Francisco’s regular-season finale and is not expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 season.”

Now granted, a nine-month return timeline wad have been rather brisk, even if it is rapidly becoming the norm for NFL players. With that being said, the 49ers did lose Hufanga in free agency and didn't address the position like it was one of their biggest priority, as they didn't snag a safety until the 24th pick in the fifth round, when Marques Sigle from Kansas State came off the board.

Should the 49ers have drafted a safety up higher, just in case? Maybe so, assuming they had this information, but recall, if you will, that Mustapha was a fourth-round pick in 2024, selected just 36 spots higher than Sigle came off the board. Considering the success the 49ers have had with Day 3 defensive backs over the past few years, it's hard to call this deal anything but a major success.