SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In the midst of a rash of injuries that has hit the wide receiver room particularly hard, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan offered the closest thing to a return date for Brandon Aiyuk for the first time Monday.
While Shanahan was sure to add the necessary caveats that things can change with a serious injury such as the torn ACL and MCL in Aiyuk’s right knee, his current hope is to have Aiyuk back a little before midseason along with safety Malik Mustapha and quarterback Kurtis Rourke, both of whom are also dealing with ACL injuries.
“I kind of view all those guys around the same time,” Shanahan said. “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.”
Aiyuk remains on the physically unable to perform list because of the knee injury he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 of last season. Aiyuk has been around the team throughout this training camp, offering tips to the healthy receivers as they go through practice and helping receivers coach Leonard Hankerson break down plays in meetings.
But Aiyuk’s knee injury wasn’t as clean as others, which is why a nearly yearlong timetable has been eyed. His potential return took on even more importance given the continued rash of injuries that has hit the Niners at receiver.
One of the few who had been a steady presence was rookie Jordan Watkins, a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi who made a 50-yard catch in his preseason debut against the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.
Watkins played the whole game seemingly without issue but told the team of some pain Sunday. An MRI revealed that Watkins is dealing with a high ankle sprain, one Shanahan said Monday will likely keep Watkins out for about a month.
The 49ers practiced Monday without Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings (calf), Jacob Cowing (hamstring) and Watkins, a quartet that many would have projected to account for about two-thirds of the team’s regular-season depth chart at the position.
What’s more, veteran Demarcus Robinson is still awaiting word from the league on a potential suspension after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge in early July. Shanahan said Robinson is in the midst of an appeals process before any discipline is finalized, a sentiment Robinson echoed on Monday.
“[I’m] pretty anxious,” Robinson said. “Just waiting on the outcome to see what happens with that. I really don’t know the timeframe. Waiting to hear from them, obviously. It’s all up to whatever the league says. I’m just waiting on whatever they say when the time comes.”
Jennings’ situation offers a similar amount of uncertainty. He’s entering the final season of the two-year extension he signed in the 2024 offseason and is scheduled to count $4.258 million against the salary cap with more than $8 million in dead money remaining in 2025 from lingering void years. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in mid-July that Jennings would like a lucrative contract extension or, barring that, a trade. Jennings reported to camp on time and took part in the first four practices of camp before departing during the fourth one with a calf issue.
It’s the same calf that Jennings struggled with in last year’s training camp and during organized team activities in late spring. To this point, Jennings has made no public trade requests but there’s no timeline for him to return to practice, either.
“It is something that we don’t think will be too serious,” Shanahan said. “But it’s bothering him now and then how much he misses; I always want guys out there. It helps him, it helps the team. But Jauan was all right last year, too, missing some time.”
Cowing, meanwhile, is expected to return to practice in some capacity Tuesday after injuring his hamstring in the opening days of camp. Cowing went through a workout Sunday with Shanahan saying he hit all of the times the team wanted to see from him.
For now, Ricky Pearsall, the team’s top pick in 2024, is the only wideout projected in the team’s top six who is healthy enough to practice and expected to be available for Week 1 if he can avoid injury. Beyond Pearsall and Robinson, the Niners ran Tuesday’s practice with Isaiah Hodgins, Robbie Chosen, Terique Owens, Russell Gage Jr. and Junior Bergen as the only other receiver options. All of which begs the question of whether the Niners will need to go to free agency to find another veteran option or two.
“It is a challenge,” Shanahan said. “There are possibilities later that are guaranteed, but there’s lots of things that are tied to that. Who’s available, how much they’re available for and the situation our team is in salary cap wise and what we can do. But yeah, we’re looking into everything. We’ll always try to do the best but try not to just panic and do something to survive a tough situation at the expense of what would really hurt you later on this year and definitely next year.”