The San Francisco 49ers are managing a series of injuries among their wide receivers as the NFL preseason continues. Brandon Aiyuk, the team’s leading receiver, remains on the active/physically unable to perform list after tearing his ACL and MCL last season. His absence was anticipated, but additional injuries have left the roster depleted at the position.
General manager John Lynch described the situation during an interview with local San Francisco station KNBR on Thursday. “With Aiyuk being on PUP, we started with 13 guys. And now, we’re down to — at one point yesterday, I think we had seven out there,” Lynch said. “Now, we’ve got to keep the guys who we have healthy. We’ve got to find a way to get from here to there. But that’s what our calling is. That’s what our job is. So, we’ll do it, and we’ll figure out a way, and we’re going to be all right.”
Russell Gage Jr., Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and Jauan Jennings are among those who have also sustained recent injuries in training camp or preseason practices.
Addressing Aiyuk’s recovery timeline, Lynch noted: “I think we feel comfortable saying he’s not going to be there Week 1, and then, it will probably be some time after that (…) I’m not going to put exact timelines, but hopefully, sometime in this season, he’s playing the type of football we know, when he’s out there, that he is expected to, and expects himself to play at. And it’ll be a big boost to our team.”
There has been speculation about Aiyuk returning around Week 6 if he starts the regular season still on the physically unable to perform list.
Lynch also discussed Gage’s injury specifically: “That’s one of those ones, we were out at practice, we were doing 1-on-1s, and at first I thought he had his ankle. It looked like it buckled (…). I think a slight MCL sprain was actually welcome news. He will miss some time. We expect him to be ready for our opener (…) It’s not ideal — but it’s better than the alternative with what we saw. But he’s working through that.”
On Demarcus Robinson’s three-game suspension by the NFL for violating its substance abuse policy Lynch commented: “We’ll be respectful of that, and when the league makes their final determination, everybody will know right along with us. I think we’re at the stage of it; you guys will know when we will know.”
The 49ers’ management is adjusting plans as they work through these setbacks ahead of the regular season.
