At an up-and-down 3-4, the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers can’t be reliably counted on as a bona fide contender. That makes Brandon Aiyuk’s season-ending knee injury an outright disaster for a Bay Area constellation of football superstars still chasing an elusive Lombardi Trophy.

Multiple national reporters have confirmed that Aiyuk’s ACL is torn, along with his MCL, and there may be other damage. Aiyuk has been the focal point of the 49ers passing offen