The 49ers lose Brandon Aiyuk to a serious knee injury after getting Ricky Pearsall back

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The emotional lift of Ricky Pearsall's return to the field 50 days after he was shot lasted less than a half. Then the San Francisco 49ers had to deal with some more bad news at receiver.

Brandon Aiyuk went down with a right knee injury in Sunday's 28-18 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that coach Kyle Shanahan fears is a season-ending ACL tear.

Shanahan said the team was waiting for confirmation from an MRI scheduled for Monday, but the expectation is that Aiyuk will miss the rest of the season in the latest injury blow to a San Francisco team already missing All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and other key players.

“I know a lot of teams deal with that,” Shanahan said about the spate of injuries. “Not every team, but we’re dealing with it hard right now. It got worse today. It’s tough.”

Aiyuk got hurt late in the first half when was hit on the knee after making a catch in the red zone. He stayed down for a few minutes before being carted to the locker room and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.

Aiyuk, who signed a $120 million, four-year extension in late August following a lengthy contract “hold in,” has 25 catches for 374 yards this season. He was a second-team All-Pro last season when he had 1,342 yards receiving.

“Obviously just what BA does for our offense, who he is as a teammate and brother of ours, man, it’s sad,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. "So wish him nothing but the best moving forward. That’s my guy.

San Francisco was already without two of its other top receivers, with Jauan Jennings sidelined by a hip injury that is not expected to be long-term and Deebo Samuel dealing with an illness that limited him to four snaps against Kansas City.

That put more responsibility on the plate of Pearsall, who was activated from the non-football injury list on Saturday. Pearsall came in for his first play on San Francisco's opening drive and caught his first career pass late in the second quarter. He finished with three catches for 21 yards.

“He was going to get eased in a little today,” Shanahan said. “That changed a little bit with Deebo going out and it changed a bunch with Aiyuk going out. So he had to do more than we expected today and I was proud of him for handling it. It’s great to have him back.”

Pearsall returned to practice this past Monday for the first time since he was shot in the chest in San Francisco’s Union Square area on Aug. 31. He was hospitalized overnight but avoided damage to any organs and nerves and was back working out at the team facility the following week.

“Obviously my first thoughts through the whole incident was whether I was going to be alive or not,” Pearsall said. “Once I knew I was going to be OK, and I was going to be able to live, the next question was whether I was going to play football again. As soon as I got that answer, that light just grew inside of me and I was super excited to get back out here.”

Pearsall, who was drafted in the first round in April, missed the majority of training camp with injuries to his hamstring and shoulder but was on track to be ready for the opener before he was shot.

It took weeks to get back to full health where he could play in a game.

“The biggest hurdle for me was just recovering from the wound,” he said. “There was obviously a lot of scar tissue built up in the area, and since it was in my chest, under my armpit. ... Just working through that, making sure I’m getting that all worked on and getting that scar tissue out. And once I started feeling a better range of motion, pain tolerance-wise, that’s when I was headed in the right direction in practice to return.”

Pearsall proved that on the practice field during the week, but the moment of stepping onto the field for the first time as a professional was the biggest step.

“It meant everything to me,” Pearsall said. “Obviously, all the adversity I just went through this past month. It was really good to go out there with my guys again. I think that’s a refresher for me at the end of the day. When the incident first happened, the first thing I was thinking about was the guys in this locker room, the coaches in the locker room and the entire staff. They did a really good job of rallying around me and making sure I stayed up. It was a huge blessing for me today.”

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, bottom, remains on the field after being hit during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, right, cannot catch a pass next to Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall waits at the line of scrimmage during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall warms up before an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (14) catches a pass against Kansas City Chiefs safety Bryan Cook (6) during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) is hit by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, left, and safety Chamarri Conner during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) remains on the field after being hit during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Aidan O'Connell was looking forward to securing his hold on the starting quarterback job for the Las Vegas Raiders, only to sustain a thumb injury in the first quarter of a 20-15 loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

O'Connell was hurt when his right hand smacked the hand of Rams safety Kam Curl while throwing a long pass. Adding insult to injury, O'Connell was penalized for intentional grounding on the play.

“It was super unfortunate," he said. "I was really looking forward to today and this opportunity, and so for it to be cut short like that was definitely hard.”

O'Connell stayed in for the last offensive snap of the drive, completing a short pass to wide receiver DJ Turner on third-and-21, but the second-year QB from Purdue said his thumb was already numb.

“I tried to give that third down play a shot, and then I threw it and it didn’t feel great, so I tried to tough it out but, yeah, it was not feeling great," said O'Connell, who was 6 of 10 for 52 yards on the Raiders’ first two series.

After the game, O'Connell had his thumb in a splint, which was covered with black tape. The 26-year-old said the extent of the injury would not be known until they return to Las Vegas for further examination, “but (was) hoping for some good news,” he added, having dealt with a similar injury in middle school.

Gardner Minshew replaced O'Connell for Las Vegas' third series. Minshew began the season as the starting quarterback, but was replaced by O'Connell this month because of issues with turnovers. Those struggles continued for Minshew, the well-traveled sixth-year NFL veteran.

Minshew threw three interceptions and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown late in the first half. His first two picks led to a pair of Rams' touchdown runs, and the last came with 1:18 remaining as Minshew tried to lead a go-ahead drive.

“No, that’s on me, man," Minshew said. “That’s unacceptable to have that many turnovers. I got to be smarter with the ball. To have a game where we lose by five points and have four turnovers, like that’s critical, and it’s unfair to the rest of the team.”

The Raiders (2-5) have committed a league-worst 16 turnovers, with Minshew responsible for eight interceptions and two lost fumbles in six games. Las Vegas has a minus-13 takeaway differential after posting a minus-3 margin against the Rams.

Minshew said it was the worst run of ball security in his career.

“It’s super frustrating,” he said. "I’ve never turned the ball over like this in my life. It’s just very frustrating. So just got to keep looking at it, keep studying and keep training good habits, and we’re going to find a way out of this.”

The Raiders almost were able to overcome those errors and tie it late in the fourth quarter, but right tackle DJ Glaze committed a false start on fourth down from the Rams 4. Head coach Antonio Pierce sent out Daniel Carlson to kick his fifth field goal after the penalty.

“Like, those are some drive killers,” said Minshew, who was 15 of 34 for 154 yards.

O'Connell acknowledged the struggling offense, which was playing for the first time since wide receiver Davante Adams was traded to the New York Jets on Tuesday and did not have Jakobi Meyers available because of an ankle injury, is not in position to overcome those constant gaffes.

“Feels a little bit like a snowball effect right now, where it’s happened before, and we’re trying to get out of that mindset," O'Connell said. "But, yeah, it’s just kind of been unforced error, unfortunate error after error, and really nothing you can do but going back to the drawing board and try to regroup and put our best foot forward next week.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (12) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (12) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell (12) attempts to throw a pass as Los Angeles Rams safety Kamren Curl (3) jumps to defend during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)