49ers Have Wide Receiver Woes; Samuels, Aiyuk

It is time to push the panic button. The championship window for the 49ers is over.

The San Francisco 49ers were already trying to come to grips with Monday’s devastating news that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was out for the season with a serious knee injury, a torn ACL/MCL, when reports surfaced that Deebo Samuel was hospitalized suffering from pneumonia.

Aiyuk had two receptions for 23 yards at the time of the injury in the depths of a relatively slow start to the season by his standards. With his season down the drain, Aiyuk will not be able to reach 1,000-yard mark for the third consecutive year. He absolutely balled out, hauling in 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on his way to a second team All-Pro selection last year.

On Sunday afternoon, the 49ers confirmed that Samuels was hampered by an unspecified illness at game time. Despite being cleared to play against the Kansas City Chiefs in the anticipated and hyped Super Bowl rematch at Levi’s Stadium, Samuel only played in three snaps total and was hardly on the field early in the game.

He was later listed as questionable with an illness in the third quarter and then out a short time later. The Chiefs beat the 49ers handily by a score of 28-18.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter posted the update on Samuel’s illness Monday afternoon, saying that he was in the hospital and had fluid in his lungs. He noted that there was no immediate timeline for his return.

The Niners signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension in August after an extended contract stalemate that saw him miss the majority of training camp. He wrapped up his abbreviated season with 25 catches for 374 yards and no touchdowns.

Schefter also said tight end George Kittle sprained his foot and was “considered day to day.” The one bit of good news the 49ers have had recently was that rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall returned to the field to play Sunday for the first time since being shot in the chest in San Francisco during an attempted robbery earlier this summer.

Pearsall caught three passes for 21 yards during the game against the Chiefs and received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd after his first NFL catch.

“It sucks,” center Jake Brendel said Sunday. “Any injury like that to one of your weapons on offense or defense, it just sucks. I feel like as a roster, we just have to respond. Whoever’s next on the roster needs to step up and make sure that there isn’t a setback and productivity on offense.”