San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk may not get back on the field for in-game action for some time.
However, he has been active on the practice field as of late and made sure the media saw him running some routes.
Aiyuk is trying to work his way back from the gruesome knee injury suffered last season, which resulted in a torn ACL and MCL. He looks to be moving well as he did some quick cuts on the field at practice:
Brandon Aiyuk testing out his knee at practice
🎥: @957thegame pic.twitter.com/ipyoGfvdKC
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) August 19, 2025
It is likely no accident that Aiyuk did these little moves where he knew they would be seen. Matt Barrows of The Athletic has noted before that Aiyuk regularly makes a habit of warming up in front of reporters, and his whole trade saga made abundantly clear that he is not afraid of attracting attention to himself.
Even if he is grandstanding just a little bit, it is a welcome sight to see him out on the practice field moving well. With all of the injuries and issues the Niners are facing with their wide receivers right now, getting Aiyuk back as quickly as possible is of great importance. Aiyuk was also running routes and catching passes from quarterback Brock Purdy ahead of last Saturday's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan threw out Week 6 as a potential target date for Aiyuk to return, although he also kept the window open on that and did not firmly commit to a target date or estimated return.
San Francisco certainly does not want to rush Aiyuk back from such a major injury. The 49ers committed a lot of money to him last offseason, so they want to ensure he is healthy and ready to go before getting him back on the field. Even though the wide receiver situation seems dire right now, that does not mean they should be reckless and rush him back.
Even though Aiyuk was disappointing last season before the injury, he put up incredible numbers in 2023 that earned him his big contract. That season, he had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
If he can be more like the 2023 version of himself rather than the 2024 version when he comes back, the Niners would be thrilled.
Him running routes in shorts at practice shows he still has to make more progress before he is fully back, but it is nonetheless a positive sign in his recovery.
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