Brandon Aiyuk‘s eventual return to the field is starting to come into focus. While the receiver was previously operating without a return timeline as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL, coach Kyle Shanahan revealed today that Week 6 would be a rough estimate for the receiver’s activation.

“I kind of view all those guys around the same time,” Shanahan said while also referencing injured safety Malik Mustapha and quarterback Kurtis Rourke (via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner). “Whether it’s Mustafa, whether it’s Rourke or whether it’s Brandon. They’re all at different stages, but where they’re at, I always see ’em around Week 6, which means that could be Week 10, it means it could be Week 5, but that’s the area where I start thinking about it, which is a long way away. I know it’s not Week 1 or anything like that, so it’s something I’m not really thinking about too much.”

A Week 6 return would be just short of a year absence for Aiyuk, who suffered his season-ending knee injury in Week 7 of the 2024 campaign. While we’ve seen a number of players return from this injury in less than a calendar year, Wagoner notes that Aiyuk didn’t suffer a “clean” tear. Still, the receiver is expected to make a full recovery.

Aiyuk is currently on the physically unable to perform list and is destined to remain there through the start of the regular season. As Wagoner notes, Aiyuk has been around the squad throughout training camp, with the veteran working with the team’s young wideouts.

Aiyuk’s absence will certainly be felt. Beyond the subtraction of mainstay Deebo Samuel, the 49ers continue to deal with injuries to their WR corps. Jauan Jennings is without a return date as he continues to nurse a calf injury, and Wagoner reported earlier today that fourth-round rookie Jordan Watkins is now sidelined with a high ankle sprain. That injury is expected to sideline the first-year receiver for a month, putting his status for Week 1 in doubt.

As a result, Brock Purdy is eyeing some questionable targets for the start of the regular season. 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall is expected to initially lead the grouping, and the team could also lean on offseason acquisition Demarcus Robinson and 2024 fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing. Otherwise, the rest of the team’s depth consists of the likes of rookie seventh-round pick Junior Bergen, veteran Russell Gage, and former UDFA Terique Owens.

An ACL tear limited Brandon Aiyuk to seven games last season. Given the timing of the injury, it has long been a question with respect to when the 49ers wideout will be able to return to action in 2025.

Time still remains for Aiyuk to continue making progress in his recovery, but at this point it remains unlikely he will be in the lineup at the start of the campaign. During an appearance on KNBR, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area confirmed (via 49ers WebZone) a stint on the reserve/PUP list would come as no surprise in this case. Moving Aiyuk to that list would ensure at least a four-game absence to begin the campaign.

However, Maiocco added Aiyuk’s knee remains ahead of schedule, an update which has been provided more than once this offseason. As a result, the door could still be open to the 27-year-old suiting up in Week 1. The 49ers have made it clear they are satisfied with their current group of receivers – a unit which no longer includes Deebo Samuel – heading into 2025. That is based in large part on the team’s confidence Aiyuk will manage to return to his previous form in short order.

The Arizona State product’s receiving totals increased during each of his first four seasons in San Francisco, including 1,342 in 2024. That improvement made Aiyuk an extension priority for the 49ers, although the long-running process of working out a second contract included a trade agreement being reached which would have sent him to the Steelers. In the end, a four-year pact was signed carrying an average annual value of $30MM to keep Aiyuk in the Bay Area. That makes him one of eight wideouts attached to an AAV of $30MM or more.

Expectations will thus remain high whenever Aiyuk manages to return to the field. The former first-rounder will be tasked with leading a pass-catching group which still features tight end George Kittle and veteran Jauan Jennings but has seen a number of changes in recent years. 2024 No. 31 pick Ricky Pearsall and free agent signing Demarcus Robinson are among the receivers who will be expected to carve out notable roles on offense, particularly while Aiyuk is sidelined.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already said Aiyuk will miss the beginning of training camp, but his ongoing rehab process will be worth watching closely. In the lead-in to the start of the campaign, a decision will need to be made to place him on the reserve/PUP list or leave him on the active roster in the hopes he will be available earlier than Week 5. It will be interesting to see if progress in the coming weeks alters the team’s thinking in this case.

APRIL 2: Lynch effectively confirmed the 49ers do not intend to trade Aiyuk. As the Tuesday bonus vesting date has come and gone — meaning the $76MM fully guaranteed to Aiyuk has now triggered (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) — San Francisco will move forward with its 2024 extension recipient.

MARCH 30: A report from FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz several days ago indicated the 49ers, who have seen salary cap constraints trigger a mass exodus of talent this offseason, are open to trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Given the lucrative extension Aiyuk signed in August and the season-ending ACL tear he suffered in October, the Niners would be selling low if they were to move him, and an unofficial deadline in that regard is fast approaching.

As Schultz observed in his report and as ESPN’s Adam Schefter echoed on a recent episode of his podcast (h/t Kyle Posey of Niners Nation), Aiyuk has a $22.85MM roster bonus due on April 1. Schefter cannot envision a scenario in which San Francisco pays out that bonus and then trades Aiyuk at any point in 2025, particularly when the wideout’s value is at its nadir.

Instead, assuming the April 1 “deadline” passes without a trade having been consummated, Schefter expects the 49ers will simply wait for Aiyuk to get healthy and display the same high-end ability that landed him a four-year, $120MM contract last year and that made him such a sought-after trade commodity prior to the contract being signed. The Niners have already traded Deebo Samuel, and their WR depth chart outside of Aiyuk presently consists of 2024 draftees or veteran ancillary targets, so a healthy and productive return for Aiyuk would, if nothing else, dramatically improve the club’s 2026 outlook.

On that point, Schefter says noted surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache is pleased with the progress Aiyuk has made in his recovery. It appears as if the 2020 first-rounder is on track to return to the field by the middle of the upcoming campaign, which should give San Francisco plenty of time to evaluate his future in the organization.

Schultz’s report noted the 49ers had discussed an Aiyuk trade with several teams. That jibed with an earlier report from Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who said — on the same day Samuel was traded — that Aiyuk was also drawing trade interest.

Schefter appears to deviate from his fellow pundits by saying there has not been much external interest in Aiyuk’s services due to his contract and injury concerns. That leads him to believes a trade will not happen, but if a WR-needy club is willing to roll the dice, the ESPN reporter confirms it would not take a significant offer to convince GM John Lynch to pull the trigger.

If such an offer does not come in the next two days, though, it seems fair to expect Lynch to retain Aiyuk through the 2025 season.

Recovering from an ACL injury and now attached to a lucrative four-year deal, Brandon Aiyuk hasn’t been nearly as popular on this website as he was last offseason. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s any less available than he was in 2024.

According to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, the 49ers are open to trading their top wide receiver, and there has been “communication with several teams.” This follows a report from earlier this month that rival teams were sniffing around on Aiyuk’s trade availability.

With Aiyuk set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, the receiver appeared to be firmly on the trade block last offseason. He was connected to a number of teams, including a nixed trade to the Steelers, before ultimately inking a four-year, $120MM extension with the 49ers. Aiyuk tore his ACL in October, ending his season prematurely.

Aiyuk’s injury and extension would obviously change his trade market in 2025. Further, the 49ers’ receiving outlook looks a whole lot different than it did just one month ago. Deebo Samuel is now gone, leaving the organization with some question marks at the position.

Jauan Jennings had some standout performances while filling in for teammates in 2024 but has never topped 1,000 yards receiving, and Ricky Pearsall‘s tumultuous rookie season saw him finish with 31 receptions. The team added Demarcus Robinson to a grouping that also includes the likes of 2024 fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing, veteran Russell Gage, and free agent addition Isaiah Hodgins.

In other words, the team is expected to be especially reliant on Aiyuk moving forward, so it’d be a surprise if the team was suddenly willing to pivot when the player’s trade value is likely at its lowest. The timing of a trade could also complicate things. As Schultz notes, Aiyuk has a guaranteed option bonus of $23MM due next week, and a trade would likely have to be consummated before that date.

So, while both the 49ers and suitors may have interest in a potential deal, it seems unlikely that anything will come to fruition any time soon.