The San Francisco 49ers faced a day of mixed fortunes as they welcomed back wide receiver Ricky Pearsall while dealing with a potentially season-ending injury to their top receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
During Sunday’s 28–18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, which the team feared was possible.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan provided a sobering update in the post-game press conference, saying,
“Brandon Aiyuk had a knee injury, we’re worried it’s the ACL. Not confirmed yet, but we will definitely find out tomorrow.”
The next 24 hours will be crucial as further testing will reveal the full severity of Aiyuk’s injury.
Kyle Shanahan says 49ers worried Brandon Aiyuk suffered ACL injury in today’s loss pic.twitter.com/5Bn7hBmpLf
– 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) 20 October 2024
If the initial concerns are confirmed, Aiyuk will require surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
The day started with challenges for the 49ers’ receiving corps. Aiyuk was the only healthy player among the team’s top three wide receivers at the beginning of the game.
Jauan Jennings was sidelined Friday with a hip injury, while Deebo Samuel arrived at Levi’s Stadium battling an illness.
Despite expectations that Samuel would play, he was limited to only four snaps before returning to the sideline, and finished the game without any catches or carries.
The 49ers are optimistic about the return of Jennings and Samuel for next week’s game against the Cowboys.
However, Aiyuk’s situation appears to be more worrisome and could have a significant impact on the team’s offensive strategy moving forward.
next:
Analyst notes how Brock Purdy has been better than Patrick Mahomes this season