The San Francisco 49ers may have lost wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the season after he suffered a potentially serious knee injury in their 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
San Francisco 49ers experienced both a high and a low, celebrating the return of one key player while losing another potentially for the season. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has been a leader in the 49ers’ receiving stats over the past two seasons, suffered a knee injury during the team’s 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The injury is feared to be a torn ACL, which could require surgery and sideline Aiyuk for the rest of the season, pending further tests.
“That’s what it looks like, but we don’t know for sure,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Been wrong before. So, praying that we are.”
Aiyuk’s injury occurred late in the second quarter when he caught a pass from quarterback Brock Purdy and was hit by two Chiefs defenders. The low hit placed his right knee in an awkward position, and he was unable to continue playing, leaving the game with two catches for 23 yards. Medical staff assisted him off the field, and he was ruled out shortly after halftime. The potential loss of Aiyuk is a significant blow to the 49ers’ offense, particularly as they navigate other injury challenges.
At the start of the day, Aiyuk was the only healthy wide receiver among the team’s top three, with Jauan Jennings out due to a hip injury and Deebo Samuel dealing with an illness that limited him to just four snaps in the game. Samuel’s condition, described as severe fatigue and breathing issues, forced him to the sidelines early. Despite their absence, the 49ers will be hopeful for the return of Samuel and Jennings for their next game against the Dallas Cowboys, though Aiyuk’s situation is more dire.
“Throat, stomach things, just real fatigued,” Shanahan said. “Struggled to breathe, couldn’t catch his breath … he kept trying to fight through it, but once he was struggling with the breathing and everything, we had to shut him down.”
Aiyuk, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension in August, had been a key contributor to the 49ers’ offense. After earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2023 with 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, he was off to a slower start this season but remained an integral part of the team’s offensive scheme. His potential loss compounds injury issues for the 49ers, who are also without running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, and safety Talanoa Hufanga, all dealing with long-term injuries.
With Aiyuk potentially sidelined for an extended period, rookies such as Ricky Pearsall, the team’s first-round draft pick, will need to step up quickly. Pearsall, who made his NFL debut on Sunday just weeks after recovering from a gunshot wound, will be tasked with filling a major void in the 49ers’ receiving corps. Despite the adversity, quarterback Brock Purdy expressed confidence in the team’s ability to rally and adapt to the mounting challenges as they prepare for the rest of the season.
“What BA does for our offense and who he is and as a teammate and the brother of ours, man, it’s sad,” Purdy said. “Wish him nothing but the best and praying for him. So that’s my guy. And when he goes down like that, obviously we have other guys that can step up and do their job really well … we all just got to come together as a group collectively, the receiver unit and all of us.”
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