49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga suffered a knee injury during the team’s victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday. The initial word on his condition was not promising, and it did not improve on Monday. On a Monday conference call, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Hufanga tore his ACL and did not sustain any other damage to the knee. Despite this setback, there is hope that he will be ready to go for the start of the 2024 season.

Hufanga was an All-Pro last season and had been playing well again this season. He started all 10 games the 49ers have played and had 52 tackles and three interceptions in those contests. With Hufanga out, Ji’Ayir Brown took over for him and had an interception in the end zone to kill a Bucs scoring chance.

Hufanga’s absence will be felt by the 49ers defense as he was one of their top players this season. However, with Brown stepping up, they should still be able to hold their own without him for the rest of the season.