{"id":406595,"date":"2026-07-21T14:20:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/406595\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:20:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:20:47","slug":"49ers-secondary-seeks-upgrades-interceptions-at-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/406595\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ secondary seeks upgrades, interceptions at training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2013 If training camp<\/a> is about creating opportunities and competition, perhaps no 49ers unit is more emblematic of that than their defensive backs.<\/p>\n

A familiar cast returns. Their jobs, however, may not be so secure.<\/p>\n

The 49ers\u2019 secondary<\/a> struggled to make plays last season, and while an anemic pass rush didn\u2019t help, that can\u2019t excuse a lack of production.<\/p>\n

A youthful unit can experience growing pains for only so long before others are given a shot, and that is where camp enters the equation, starting with Sunday\u2019s first practice.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (2) returns an interception thrown by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) during the second half of an NFL football game in Glendale, Ariz., Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin)\u00a0A.P. Photo<\/p>\n

THE INCUMBENTS<\/p>\n

Versatile cornerback Deommodore Lenoir is entering his fifth season as a starter, and he found his voice as a captain last year. He certainly can take charge of the secondary, and the best way might be with consistently high-level play.<\/p>\n

Although Renardo Green became a starter midway through his 2024 rookie season, he was pulled briefly in last season\u2019s playoff finale and frustrated coaches last year, fueling speculation he might get traded. So he enters camp on the hot seat, with just one career interception.<\/p>\n

Upton Stout was arguably the 49ers\u2019 top defender last season as a feisty rookie in the slot.<\/p>\n

At safety, the 49ers bring back three starting-caliber players in Malik Mustapha, Marques Sigle and Ji\u2019Ayir Brown. Brown has the most experience and has been a vocal leader but is entering the last year of his rookie deal. Mustapha is certainly one to watch entering his third year, after missing camp last season amid ACL recovery.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers\u2019 Ephesians Prysock speaks to the media at Levi\u2019s Stadium Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

THE CHALLENGERS<\/p>\n

Newcomers who have a shot at rearranging the depth chart are former Raiders teammates Jack Jones and Nate Hobbs, plus fourth-round rookie Ephesians Prysock<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jones is on his fourth team in five years, but he comes with a lot of experience (39 starts in 58 games), eight career interceptions, and 33 pass breakups, including 16 for the 2024 Raiders before he started every game last season with the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

Hobbs is seen more as a slot cornerback, but his versatility piqued the 49ers\u2019 interest years ago when they tried to trade for him. He played four years with the Raiders (three interceptions, three forced fumbles, three sacks) before playing 48% of the Packers\u2019 defensive snaps last season.<\/p>\n

Prysock is a can\u2019t-miss defensive back at least in terms of his 6-foot-3 frame (and 4.45-second speed in the 40).<\/p>\n

Overlooked but lurking in the cornerback rotation are Darrell Luter Jr., Eli Apple and Jakob Robinson.<\/p>\n

NEW COACHING<\/p>\n

Raheem Morris, the 49ers\u2019 fifth defensive coordinator in as many years, brought with him from Atlanta a longtime defensive backs coach in Jerry Gray.<\/p>\n

Gray will serve as the pass-game coordinator for a unit that produced just six interceptions last season (two each from Lenoir and Brown, one apiece by Mustapha and linebacker Dee Winters).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be in position to make a play. That\u2019s our job as coaches to get you in that position, and now you need the ability to go make a play,\u201d Gray said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I try to talk to young guys about: When you\u2019re in that position, don\u2019t have fear to go make a play because a negative thought is going to override a positive thought. \u2026 You have to have a positive thought, \u2018If I\u2019m in a position, I\u2019m going to go make that play.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2013 If training camp is about creating opportunities and competition, perhaps no 49ers unit is more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[19108,13734,163008,184,7,949,402,181,752,101,296,103,102,197,198,104,106,105,200,127],"class_list":["post-406595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-49ers-alert","tag-49ers-hq","tag-49ers-training-camp","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-football","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nfl","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-santa-clara","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-south-bay","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}