The San Francisco 49ers were full of positive injury news on Friday.
In one instance, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that injury-prone running back Christian McCaffrey is as "healthy as can be" after a 2024 that saw him sidelined multiple times with Achilles issues.
And in another, general manager John Lynch said wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7 last season, is trending in a good direction with his recovery.
"Brandon's tracking in a good way with his knee, and you've just got to kind of let that play out," Lynch told radio station KNBR on Friday, responding to a question regarding receiver depth. "We're not going to put him out there until he's ready, but we're excited with our receiver group and where we're at."
Such comments were in keeping with some Lynch made in April, when he said the team is "pleased" with Aiyuk's progress and has "no regret" about signing him to a four-year, $120 million extension last summer.
You can watch Friday's remarks starting at 2:18:10 in the clip below.
In the seven games he played last season, Aiyuk had 25 catches for 374 yards—an understandably low haul considering his abbreviated campaign. In 2022, however, he totaled 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns, then followed that up with 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023.
All that to say, the Niners are no doubt excited to have both him and CMC up and running for the 2025-26 season, when they will look to make a deeper playoff run following a disappointing (and injury-riddled) 2024.
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