49ers GM John Lynch Provides Discouraging Update on Brandon Aiyuk

With Nick Bosa out for the season after tearing his ACL, it would be phenomenal for the San Francisco 49ers to receive some good news with Brandon Aiyuk.

He's working his way back from his own ACL tear (and MCL) that he suffered last season. The 49ers haven't provided any update on when Aiyuk will be allowed to begin practicing in quite some time.

That ended on Thursday when General Manager John Lynch appeared on the Bay Area radio station KNBR. Lynch was asked about Aiyuk's status with the hope that he would say something positive.

Unfortunately, it wasn't anything remotely close.

John Lynch gives a depressing update on Brandon Aiyuk

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) catches a pass between Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) and safety Chamarri Conner (27) in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

"No setbacks. There's different levels when you do these ACLs, and Brandon had a fairly significant injury involving a lot of different things in his knee," Lynch said. "He's a really gifted athlete, he's a very hard worker, and so, when you combine that you tend to come back at a good clip.

"There's no absolutes on these things, so he's got to continue to hit markers, but he is tracking well. He's working hard and we'll just continue to do that. We'll be a better team when Brandon's out there and so we look forward to that day, but it's not close. When we have some more information on that we'll be forthright with it."

The 49ers are about to play their fourth game of the season. Yet, they still don't have any clarity on when Aiyuk will join them.

Jul 24, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Still recovering from knee surgery, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (left) hangs out with teammate George Kittle (85) during the second day of training camp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Now, two things could be happening here. The first is that Lynch has an estimate of when Aiyuk will return, but is keeping hush-hush over it.

He doesn't want to give a timeline for when Aiuyk can return. Once he does that, it will be held against him if Aiyuk doesn't come back within the timeline Lynch provided.

Kyle Shanahan cited that as a reason why he didn't want to provide any dates on Aiyuk's return at the beginning of training camp. He's valid in his point because he would be criticized for it.

Even ACL+MCL should have a reasonable expectation of 11 month return, which would be Week 6.
Makes me wonder if Brandon Aiyuk dealt with scarring early on like Pitts/JK.
Genuinely surprised that he’s “not close” to returning. https://t.co/o1hJIkqEjm
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) September 25, 2025

On the other hand, Aiyuk could be taking longer to return than they anticipated. The post above indicates scarring tissue as the reason Aiyuk isn't close to returning.

In any case, it's discouraging to hear that Aiyuk still has a ways to go. At this rate, it seems like he won't make his debut until December.

John Lynch gives a depressing update on Brandon Aiyuk

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