A lot of things went wrong for the San Francisco 49ers when they lost the Super Bowl championship in heartbreaking fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs four months ago.

They had some miscues on both sides of the football, and during the big game, they lost star linebacker Dre Greenlaw to a freak Achilles injury.

But one problem the 49ers had that wasn’t talked about was the absence of safety Talanoa Hufanga, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 11.

David Lombardi of The Athletic says that while it is unknown exactly when Hufanga will take the field again, his primary goal is to be available for Week 1.

We will see when exactly Talanoa Hufanga will be back at practice for the 49ers. He just said that the primary goal is to be in action for the season opener. Whether or not that means he's back on the field at the first training camp practice remains TBD

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) June 5, 2024

Hufanga had a quiet rookie season in 2021, but the following year, he emerged as an absolute stud.

That year, he recorded nine passes defended, four interceptions, three quarterback hits, and 97 total tackles (66 solo) while being named to both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro First Team.

Some have compared him to former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, and it isn’t only because of his long hair.

Even though Hufanga is a defensive back, he can occasionally spring into action as a blitz man and pressure opposing quarterbacks, making him a very versatile member of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s defense.

Having him back will give that defense a shot in the arm after it took a step back last season.

San Francisco has a new defensive coordinator in Nick Sorenson after Steve Wilks didn’t get the job done in 2023, and the hope is that their defense becomes as suffocating as it was in 2022 when it was tops in both total yards and points allowed.

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