The Ji’Ayir Brown era may have begun before the 49ers wanted it to start
The 49ers may have lost their All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga for the season. Hufanga was ruled out right away with a knee injury. Here’s the play that it happened on:
Rachaad White is out here breaking ankles pic.twitter.com/toYYJsnY1C
— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL) November 19, 2023
You can see Hufanga’s knee buckle. When there’s nobody around him, it’s usually the worst-case scenario considering it’s a non-contact injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan will have more clarification after the game.
Videos were circulating of Hufanga being carted off the field to the locker room:
Talanoa Hufanga was just carted off to the locker room pic.twitter.com/r5G18F6XVn
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 19, 2023
That’s a brutal blow for the 49ers and Hufanga. He had escaped the injury bug during his professional career. That hadn’t been the case at USC.
This means Ji’Ayir Brown will be the 49ers safety. The rookie has the confidence in the coaching staff, but this was not how they wanted Brown’s era to begin.
The rest of the fourth quarter will serve as valuable reps for Brown.