San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan channeled his inner Bill Belichick at the podium on Wednesday. When asked if the team had decided who would start at safety, Shanahan said, “Yes,” and that was the extent of his answer. The room erupted in laughter.

Veteran free agent Jason Pinnock started in the first preseason game alongside rookie Marques Sigle. Ji’Ayir Brown did not play in that game as he had missed training camp practices due to a nagging ankle injury that plagued him during minicamp.

In Pinnock’s 11 snaps, eight were in the box and three were deep at free safety. Pinnock didn’t play another snap in August. Conversely, the rookie Sigle rarely came off the field. Of Sigle’s 99 defensive snaps in the preseason, 57 of those came in the box, 25 at free safety, and 17 at nick

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