Brandon Aiyuk Updates Not Encouraging for Fantasy Football Owners
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Brandon Aiyuk is far from the only San Francisco 49er player injured. Frankly, it looks a bit like a M*A*S*H* unit out there on the West Coast. Anyway, the 49ers are still 4-1, in first place in the NFC West, and finding ways to win.
Fantasy owners do not care about this. They want to know when Aiyuk is going to come back and contribute. Let us look back and then forward into what is going on with the wide receiver. The timeline has been interesting.
Brandon Aiyuk Original Injury With September Update
Quickly, Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season against the Kansas City Chiefs (October 20th, 2024). Everyone knows that part of the story. However, it started to become clear in training camp that something was not right. Recovery was destined to be more than the typical 9-12 months. Variables keep factoring into the wide receiver's equation.
All we keep hearing is that this was no clean tear. That has become abundantly clear now. John Lynch said this as much in late September. Aiyuk clearly was placed on the PUP list and though there has been no setback, it is more that San Francisco is realizing the level of injury more and more.
What Does This Mean for Fantasy Football Owners?
Okay, so here is a quicker update from before the weekend of Week 5 action.
Injury Update: TE George Kittle is a “long shot” to play Tampa Bay Week 6 & S Malik Mustapha will have his practice window opened on Monday. Both could most likely be back Week 7 against the Falcons at Home. WR Brandon Aiyuk is not likely to get his window opened yet. #49ers pic.twitter.com/0uhx393i3j
— 49er_Edits (@49er_edits) October 4, 2025
While this means some good news overall for other San Francisco players, Aiyuk not getting into his 21-day practice window illustrates something worse. It means he has not been medically cleared or will be anytime soon. The pass catcher was not having the greatest 2024 which gets forgotten. He had 25 catches on 47 targets. The 53.2% catch percentage was a career low before the injury. Maybe that was a blip but even that is a bit of a red flag.
Combine that with a much slower recovery and there are some stark realities as October progresses. Remember a Grade 3 tear means a complete tear which means other parts of the knee (MCL, etc.) were partially or completely compromised. Emphasizing this is important for those who considered stashing Aiyuk on their benches/IR slots.
The earliest Aiyuk could return if his window is not opened for Week 6 would be early November. Would San Francisco try to get him back in time for a second meeting with the Los Angeles Rams on November 2nd? That feels unlikely too. San Francisco will likely use all or most of the window to evaluate his readiness.
Speculating Return Dates is Dangerous
Trying to figure out when Aiyuk is going to return is dangerous because no pundit, doctor, etc. truly knows what shape the wide receiver will be in. Bluntly, not even Aiyuk will truly know what the knee will do in game conditions.
For some players, there has been success. Saquon Barkley and Adrian Peterson both returned from such surgeries and bounced back well. Even Breece Hall did much the same for the New York Jets. However, this still feels different. Aiyuk is not close and 2025 appears to be more and more like something written off for fantasy football owners.
Our verdict here is to not expect an imminent return. It is even okay to eye 2026 until Aiyuk is seen practicing without restrictions and/or his window is opened. November feels like a best case scenario at this juncture. Expectation dictates a return in November or December but his form will be a question mark. Stay tuned!
