Former ASU Star 'Unlikely' to Play Week 1 with Injury
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Former Arizona State Sun Devil and current San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk may not be able to play in Week 1 due to injury, according to general manager John Lynch. It's been a frustrating calendar year for Aiyuk, who has dealt with injuries dating back to Week 7 of last season.
Before that, Aiyuk was in a public battle with the 49ers over contract negotiations. San Francisco finally caved before the regular season, as they inked Aiyuk to a four year, $120 million contract with $76 million guaranteed. So far, the Niners haven't gotten the return on the investment like they'd hoped for.
Aiyuk's Status
Aiyuk caught 25 passes for 374 yards in seven games last season before suffering a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee.
"There's just steps that you have to continue to hit and I'll continue to say that Brandon is doing very well in his rehab. Do we have an exact date right now? No. I don't think it'll be Week 1, but hopefully I'm surprised. We'll see. We will continue to watch him work his way through his rehab. But we want him fully healthy. He had a significant injury, so you have to do a significant rehab. He's doing a really good job with that, and we got to continue to do so," Lynch said regarding Aiyuk's timetable.
Before 2024, Aiyuk put up two remarkable seasons in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, he caught 78 passes for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns. He'd haul in 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns the next season. Aiyuk did this being basically the third option in an offense that included Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, while also acquiring Christian McCaffrey midway through the 2022 season.
Fast forward to now, the Niners shipped Samuel to the Washington Commanders earlier in the offseason. Kittle is still regarded as one of the top tight ends in the game and McCaffrey has injury concerns of his own. Aiyuk is hoping to come back to be a focal point in San Francisco's scheme.
The former Sun Devil has dealt with trials and tribulations over the last year or so. Hopefully he can turn things around once fully healthy.
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