The San Francisco 49ers are still feeling the reverberations of their disappointing 2024 season. While appearing on The Adam Schefter Podcast, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared an update on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's progress following his devastating knee injury, revealing that the star pass catcher may not be ready to open the season.
"From what I understand," Schefter said. "Dr Neal El Attrache is pleased with (Aiyuk's) progress. He's coming along. I think he's ready to play midseason."
Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL in a Week 7 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs and missed the remainder of the regular season. The fact that Schefter is putting a positive spin on such an extended recovery timeline speaks to how severe Aiyuk's injury was.
After a prolonged offseason holdout, Aiyuk signed with the 49ers on a four-year, $120 million extension prior to the regular season. After a career year that saw him set personal bests in receiving yards per game (83.9) and yards per target (12.8), he crashed down to earth in 2024, contributing an underwhelming 53.4 receiving yards per game and 8.0 yards per target in his seven appearances.
In a little under a calendar year, what was once a strength for the 49ers has potentially become their Achilles heel. Without Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel, who the 49ers traded to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason, the 49ers could find themselves relying heavily on Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall to open the 2025 regular season.
Unfortunately, the 49ers are stuck. They can't rely on Aiyuk to be a major contributor this season, yet cutting him would saddle them with an untenable amount of dead money. A trade is also unlikely, given that Aiyuk isn't currently fit to play. If the 49ers are going to get back to the playoffs this season, they'll need Jenning and Pearsall to establish themselves as reliable, go-to pass catchers. Whatever they get from Aiyuk will be a bonus.
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