Eric Reid will be out for the season and any assumptions that Jimmie Ward will handle safety duties were dashed when 49ers defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil stated the cornerback would remain in his current position.
That leaves Jaquiski Tartt. The second year player was thrust into the starting role last year when Antoine Bethea went down with a pectoral injury. With a similar situation, Tartt will be called upon again to grab the reigns of the safety position.
Well, sort of. Simply plugging Tartt into the safety position isn’t easy according to O’Neil:
“Eric played, as you guys all know, a lot of different position on our defense.