49ers' Brandon Aiyuk 'Could Be Ready Week 1', Per Shocking Report

49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk ‘Could Be Ready Week 1’, Per Shocking Report originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, fresh off signing a four-year $120 million contract signed last offseason, tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7. After undergoing surgery in October, the understanding had been that Aiyuk will start the 2025 season on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he’ll be forced to miss the first four games on the schedule.

Now a report has surfaced that Aiyuk is ahead of schedule in his rehab and could get a shot at being healthy much sooner than expected.

What we know for sure is that Aiyuk was a nonparticipant in the 49ers’ offseason program at OTAs and minicamp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan also claimed his star receiver would not be ready to go for training camp, which is approaching quickly.

Despite these indications, there has been no formal confirmation that Aiyuk will miss any amount of games, making NBC Sports Bay Area’s report all the more interesting.

“I hear he’s doing really well,” Matt Maiocco said during an interview on KNBR. “I hear that the knee is even ahead of schedule.”

“Also, from what I understand, is it’s not out of the question that he could be ready Week 1.”

That qualifies as rather shocking.

It’s important to remember that knee injuries take time, especially for someone like Aiyuk who is five seasons deep into his career. General manager John Lynch had a quote this offseason about how elite athletes like Aiyuk tend to recovery quicker than expected … but that shouldn’t be something relied on, encouraged or rushed.

“They want to be extra cautious with him,” Maiocco added. “Even though the timeline, everything being equal, might point toward, ‘Hey, there’s a chance Week 1,’ and there still might be a chance Week 1 … I think the feeling inside the organization has always been don’t take any chances, start him off on PUP when they report to training camp on July 22, and then more than likely, just have that carry over into the regular season.”

Aiyuk may be progressing nicely in his recovery, but no definitive statement from the 49ers about his status should not be taken as any indication of an early return … no matter how exciting that could be.

The 49ers have plenty of offensive weapons in George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings and company to supplement the loss of Aiyuk if he starts on the PUP list. San Francisco will likely ensure a full recovery and hope the rest of the roster has put the team in a favorable spot before turning to the back half of the schedule with a healthy Aiyuk.

Then the conversation will shift to whether he can return to that All-Pro form in time for a potential playoff run.

For now, sitting the first quarter of the season is the smartest choice…

“And then, it’s quite possible that he could be ready Week 5 or Week 6, getting up to speed quickly,” Maiocco added. “But everything I’m hearing is that things are looking good, and that the progress is even ahead of where the markers were that the 49ers put on him when he had that surgery.”

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.

49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk ‘Could Be Ready Week 1’, Per Shocking Report

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