Watch 49ers safety Malik Mustapha's impressive post-ACL recovery workout
The 49ers aim to be as healthy as possible during the 2025 NFL season, especially after crawling to an NFC West-worst 6-11 finish in their last campaign, largely due to overwhelming injuries.
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That sentiment makes any updates on San Francisco safety Malik Mustapha's recovery from his right ACL tear loom even larger.
Fortunately for the 49ers and their faithful, the 22-year-old appears to be ahead of schedule – or at least on a hopeful trajectory – based on a video he posted on Friday to Instagram.
Mustapha appears to be confidently running and lifting weights, which is all San Francisco could ask for, considering it was Jan. 5 when he tore his right ACL in the 2024 regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
When news broke of Mustapha's injury after the 2025 NFL Draft, most expected the safety to be a shoo-in for the league's Physically Unable to Perform List, which would prevent him from playing in San Francisco's first four regular-season games. The recent video might suggest that maybe Mustapha could return sooner rather than later during his second 49ers campaign.
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San Francisco sure hopes that is the case.
Mustapha played a vital role as a rookie in Nick Sorensen's 49ers defense and is primed to make an even bigger impact, when healthy, under new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Over 12 starts in 2024, Mustapha recorded 72 tackles, five passes defensed and one interception.
Mustapha should return to the 49ers timely and justly, given his work ethic and resilience. And the video he posted only strengthens that agenda.
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