Projection of Early Return of 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk Continues to Gain Traction

The big story of the 2024 pre-season in San Francisco was the long, arduous contract negotiation involving 49ers' star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. By the beginning of the regular season, his contract was done, but the drama continued. Aiyuk was viewed by some 49er fans afterward in a negative light—a circumstance that was made worse by both the team's on-field struggles and Aiyuk's apparent lack of readiness to play at a high level coming out of a non-existent training camp.

Aiyuk played in only seven games in 2024 and appeared rusty and out of sync with 49ers' quarterback Brock Purdy before suffering a season-ending ACL/MCL knee injury in an October game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He has since progressed nicely with his recovery, and the prevailing speculation within the league among those familiar with that type of injury seems now to be much more optimistic than it was just a month ago. Until this week, there seemed to be little possibility that Aiyuk could return before eight weeks into the new regular season.

The speculation over whether Aiyuk would be healthy, whether he would return to his elite form, would be traded, or even wanted to remain in San Francisco, was at the forefront after the 49ers' disappointing 6-11 season came to a close. Since then, the 49ers have assured fans that Aiyuk is fully in their plans moving forward. But Aiyuk's health coming off that significant injury was the larger problem.

At the NFL Owners' Meeting this past week, both 49ers' Head Coach Kyle Shanahan and PFO/General Manager John Lynch were asked about Aiyuk's progress and anticipated return to action.

As is Shanahan's normal practice, he didn't paint himself into a corner by proposing any definitive timetable, offering simply, "It's too early to tell." But neither did Shanahan discount the idea of a Week One return for Aiyuk, adding, "The goal is always early. You hope to have him right away. We were told by his doctor there's a chance. But it's too early in the process, and we'll see when we get closer to training camp and see what it looks like."

Lynch was similarly non-committal on any specific timeframe, but implied that Aiyuk was at least on a positive path to a return sooner rather than later. Referring to Aiyuk's most recent follow-up visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon who performed Aiyuk's knee repair, Lynch said, "He went down to Dr. ElAttrache last week. I'm not going to get into timelines and all that, but he did very well. We're pleased with Brandon's progress. He has been working hard and has gotten good reviews."

Back in November, a number of orthopedic knee specialists were queried about the type of injury Aiyuk suffered. Dr. Ayoosh Pareek, a sports medicine surgeon and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, was one of those. According to Dr. Pareek, athletes typically aim to return from ACL surgery within 9-12 months. MCL injuries in conjunction with ACL repairs usually don't change the return-to-play timeline. This would put Aiyuk's Week One return, provided his recovery stays on track, within that window. And there's every indication that things are indeed on that positive course with Aiyuk.

There had been speculation earlier in the off-season that Lynch and Shanahan were ready to work a trade that would send Aiyuk elsewhere, principally to get out from under the large financial burden that came with Aiyuk's contract. But on April 1, the team paid Aiyuk his $23 million scheduled contract bonus, effectively rendering any trade possibilities dead. With the 49ers now in retooling mode, Aiyuk will remain with the 49ers in 2025 and likely well beyond, and the team will be looking for him to be a leader on offense moving ahead.

Aiyuk himself hasn't made any public statement on his injury return status. He has, however, been seen more in public in recent weeks, including a notable appearance at a Golden State Warriors basketball just days ago, indicating he's actively re-engaged in the Bay Area community.

The team plans to have a much better projection on Aiyuk's return as they proceed through team pre-camp activities in the next few months.