49ers All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga has torn ACL - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers will be without safety Talanoa Hufanga for the rest of the season after he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee Sunday.

After a 27-13 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said Hufanga had «most likely» torn the ligament but further testing would be needed to confirm that. Hufanga had those tests Monday morning and the Niners' fears were confirmed, though the imaging showed no additional damage in the knee.

«He does have a torn ACL,» Shanahan said. «They don't think there was any meniscus or anything, so it's as clean as it could be.»

Hufanga, who was a first-team All-Pro in 2022, suffered the injury on a pass play with 8:40 left in the third quarter. On the play, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield dumped a pass off in the right flat to running back Rachaad White.

As White worked upfield, Hufanga closed in to attempt the tackle but bit on an inside fake from White, who ran past him for an 11-yard gain. Hufanga planted his right leg into the ground and when he attempted to turn with White's cut, the knee appeared to buckle.

Hufanga was slow to get up after the play and went straight to the blue medical tent on the sideline. After spending a few minutes in the tent, a cart came out and took Hufanga to the locker room. He was ruled out almost immediately, a sign that the Niners believed the injury to be serious.

Through 10 games, Hufanga is fourth on the team in tackles (51) and tied for first in interceptions (3).

«I thought he started out well,» Shanahan said. «I thought he hit a little lull during our skid and I thought he played one of his best games versus Jacksonville, and I thought the same thing was going to happen here, but I thought he was