There was a welcome sight on the practice field for the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.
While left tackle Trent Williams continues his holdout and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk remains absent from practice, strong safety Talanoa Hufanga returned to action for the first time since tearing his ACL in Week 11 last season.
The 49ers activated Hufanga from the Physically Unable to Perform list at Tuesday’s final cut deadline, indicating optimism that his return was eminent. He wasn’t on the field for the portion of Wednesday’s practice that was open to the media, but he was there Thursday in uniform at least for individual drills.
The Athletic’s David Lombardi had video of Hufanga:
Talanoa Hufanga back at 49ers practice pic.twitter.com/I9cAYb81u9
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 29, 2024
Whether Hufanga will actually be ready for the season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 remains to be seen.
The club activated him which was a positive sign, but they also re-signed veteran safety Tracy Walker to the practice squad. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the expectation is for Walker to be elevated for Week 1, which casts doubt on Hufanga’s availability.
His participation in Thursday’s session is a good sign that he’s continuing to trend the right way. He’ll get three days of practice in beginning next Thursday as the team’s first week preparations officially start. At that point we’ll get a better indication of how close Hufanga is to returning.
Even if he does miss the opener, his return to game action shouldn’t be far off.
