Former 49ers Safety Lays Into Ji’Ayir Brown Over Critical Comments

It's not outlandish at all to say that Ji'Ayir Brown was no better than average last season.

More often than not, he was mediocre. And that's something former 49ers safety Donte Whitner has harped on, criticizing Brown's performance last year.

If anyone knows whether Brown is performing well, it's Whitner. However, Brown took exception to Whitner's criticism and called him up about it.

"Ji'Ayir Brown calling me on the phone, trying to check me, telling me I can't talk bad about him when he has a bad play," said Whitner on The Grit Code podcast. "He called me and Richard Sherman on the phone that he used to respect us and that we're not keeping it 'G' because we told the truth about his deficiencies."

Whitner lays into Brown

Ji’Ayir Brown called Donte directly trying to check him over the criticism… 👀📞

But when the film gets cut on, the truth don’t lie. 🎥🔥

EP 37 LIVE FRIDAY.

Subscribe: https://t.co/RkZkAtfbut @DonteWhitner @rodbrooksTV pic.twitter.com/qBmhGTWaJT
— Grit Code Podcast (@thegritcode) May 12, 2026

Clearly, Whitner didn't take kindly to Brown's approach on the phone call. It's one thing to push back on criticism and have a constructive conversation about it.

But Whitner took Brown's call as a way to "check" him about his comments. That leads him to lay into Brown and share a bit of the conversation they had.

"I said, 'Ji'Ayir, honestly, do you feel like you played like a top safety last year?' He said, 'Yeah.'"

"'You felt like you should've made the Pro Bowl last year?' He was like, 'Yeah.' In that moment, I knew that the kid was just **** delusional."

"Now, if you've got a valid point, I'm willing to listen to it," Whitner said. "But if you play like **** and I analyze it, I'm gonna continue to analyze it that way. When you play well, I'm not gonna be biased. I'm gonna give you all the praise in the world."

There's nothing wrong with what Whitner has said about Brown. Not even with these comments. If anything, Brown should've ignored Whitner's comments.

It's not like Whitner is the only person saying he played at a mediocre level last season. Brown had his moments with positive performances, but the majority were low-level.

Just imagine if Brown said nothing to Whitner, stayed silent on all the critics, and went out there this upcoming season and balled out. That is when he can turn around and say something to the critics.

Instead, he just makes himself look insane for thinking he was a Pro Bowl player last season. In fact, you could question if he's a coachable player or if the 49ers' position coaches are doing their jobs.

Because if he thinks he played really well last season, he's not listening to coaching, or the 49ers' coaches are telling him that he did. Either way, this was all an avoidable situation.

Whitner is in the right.

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