Logan Ryan Most Likely is the 49ers' Next Man Up at Safety

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers are down to their third-string strong safety.

First, Talanoa Hufanga tore his ACL in Week 11, then Ji'Ayir Brown sprained his knee against the Ravens and has missed each of the past two practices. The 49ers fear his injury could be long term.

Which means the 49ers have to figure out who should play strong safety while Brown is out. And the most likely choice seems to be veteran defensive back Logan Ryan, who signed with the 49ers a few weeks ago.

“Logan has done a great job," defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said on Thursday. "I was excited when we got him. I knew at some point in time that he was going to do a great job in stepping in for us. His leadership there, and I talked to Fred Warner about this coming off the field yesterday, and I was like, ‘did you feel and see Logan?’ He's like, ‘yeah, man, he talks.’ And that's the great sign of a safety. His ability to communicate, particularly when you’ve got a new guy in there, and he's stepping up and doing those things. So, I like his presence. He has skin on the wall, as I call it. He's been around the league for a while, played in a couple Super Bowls, so he understands the magnitude of where we are at this time of the year."

The 49ers could call up a young safety from the practice and give him a chance, but the playoffs are only a few weeks away and the 49ers can't afford to take chances on novices.

Logan Ryan needs to step up.