It's going to be interesting to see how the safety position plays out for the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. Dashon Goldson had a decent year, with plenty of mistakes but reinforced with some big, big plays, while Donte Whitner exceeded expectations of every single 49ers fan and was like a shotgun shell on every single play. Whitner is under contract, while Goldson was given the franchise tag - but the real question mark is the backups.
That being the fact that the 49ers don't really have a backup right now. They've got four safeties on the roster, but both backups aren't really "backup" material. C.J. Spillman is used occasionally in goal line situations (and was fantastic there), but is limited outside of that one situation and is a core special teamer. Colin Jones only say one snap last season that wasn't special teams: on offense.
Reggie Smith has departed for the Carolina Panthers, leaving Madieu Williams the only real option for the 49ers, except for the fact that he's a free agent. Williams already visited with the Washington Redskins, and ESPN's Adam Schefter is now reporting that he visited with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.
If Williams goes, it's going to create an interesting situation for the 49ers. They'll likely need to draft a replacement early on, but the draft isn't all-that strong in regards to the position. Williams didn't see much time in 2011, but the 49ers assumed he was going to be the starter before it was found that Goldson wasn't going to get an offer from the New England Patriots after all, and he was brought back on a one-year deal.
It might be in their best interest to re-sign him at this point, lest Goldson or Whitner go down an injury.