San Francisco 49ers star Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk, left Sunday’s game against the Chiefs with a knee injury that looked bad. Unfortunately, the 49ers’ worst fears have come to pass. He was confirmed to have torn his ACL on Sunday and will be lost for the rest of the season. The 49ers will have to find a way to replace his production from now on if they want to have a successful passing attack.
Brandon Aiyuk Season Recap
The 2024 season will be one to forget for Brandon Aiyuk. It started in the offseason when he requested a trade from the 49ers because they did not pay him sufficient guaranteed money in his eyes. That whole saga cost Aiyuk most of training camp until the two parties came to an agreement on August 30. Then the season came about and Aiyuk was rusty from not attending training camp.
Throughout this season, he and Brock Purdy never really got on the same page, certainly not anywhere near what their chemistry looked like in 2023 when Aiyuk had his breakout season. Brandon Aiyuk still proved that he can be a great route runner this year, but with Christian McCaffrey out of the lineup, teams were able to dial in on Aiyuk more than normal, causing his production to plummet as a result.
For perspective, Aiyuk averaged almost 84 receiving yards per game in 2023. However, in 2024 that number dropped to just over 53 yards per game. Unfortunately for Brandon Aiyuk, his season ended on a low note against Kansas City, with this crucial third down drop in the first half serving as the low point of the season. Overall, it was a down year for Brandon Aiyuk, and all the 49ers can hope for is a speedy recovery for Aiyuk and for him to return to form in 2025 and beyond.
The 49ers Offense Going Forward
The San Francisco 49ers will not be able to entirely replace Brandon Aiyuk’s production, there’s just no two ways about it. However, things will get easier for them than they are right now. McCaffrey is slated to return in early November, potentially after San Francisco’s bye week. Even without Aiyuk, the 49ers still have a stash of weapons at their disposal. They still have arguably the best tight end in football in George Kittle, two good receivers in Jauan Jennings and Deebo Samuel, a good running game, and one of the most coveted minds in football at head coach.
Admittedly, even with Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers offense did not look as good nor as efficient as they were since the Purdy era began in 2022. They’ve struggled in the red zone all season which was once their biggest strength. Going forward, the 49ers are going to have to play cleaner football than they’ve been playing recently, and if Deebo Samuel can’t recover from an illness he got on Sunday in time for next week’s game against the Cowboys, the Niners passing attack could be in trouble.
Final Thoughts
Brandon Aiyuk’s injury will hurt the 49ers offense in many ways, especially with beating man-to-man coverage which the Niners have struggled against so far this year. They can still be a good offense without Aiyuk, but it remains to be seen if they can approach what they once were in 2022 and 2023 without him moving forward.
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