San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk isn't expected to be ready for Week 1 when the team opens the 2025 NFL season on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Due to his recovery from significant knee injuries, many anticipate Aiyuk starting the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which would sideline him for at least the first four games.
Aiyuk damaged his ACL and MCL in October. Earlier this week, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the wideout will not be ready for the start of training camp, a development that comes as little surprise given the severity of his injury.
Still, the 49ers remain optimistic about Aiyuk's recovery.
"Brandon's doing a tremendous job coming back," general manager John Lynch said this week. "These guys that are incredibly skilled athletes, they tend to heal a lot faster. It's kind of incredible how well he's healing, and he's putting in the work. We're proud of Brandon, and we're looking forward to him being part of this team moving forward."
So, when could Aiyuk realistically return to game action? NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco recently provided insight into a potential timeline during an appearance on Bay Area radio station KNBR.
"I would expect him to miss the first four games of the season, to be placed on PUP," Maiocco said. "And then, because he seems to be ahead of schedule, or even ahead of where they projected him to be, then I think that once they've kind of taken that off the table—he's not going to play in the first month of the year—then they can really look and say, 'Okay, you know what? Let's open that window in Week 5.'"
That would allow Aiyuk time to begin practicing in Week 5, potentially easing him back before activating him within that 21-day window to do so.
"There's a chance they would open the window in Week 5, and have him practice a couple of weeks, and then, get him back out there," Maiocco continued. "But my guess is, if I were just to take a wild stab, I would just say somewhere like Week 6 to Week 8. It would be probably the most logical, reasonable, and rational timeframe where we can expect Brandon Aiyuk back on the field."
Maiocco notes that if Aiyuk can return to his 2023 form, his lucrative contract extension, viewed by some as an overpayment, could end up looking like a steal, especially given how quickly the wide receiver market has evolved.
You can listen to Maiocco's entire interview below.
Listen: Click here to listen on Omny.fm
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Only eight plate appearances into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has already been more productive than the team’s previous third base options. What might sound hyperbolic or outright false at first glance is actually true, at least from a certain point of view. Analytics — specifically, Wins Above Replacement — proves that argument, and it’s one that Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be ashamed of. McMahon went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, giving him four hits in his first eight at-bats. FanGraphs ruled that McMahon is already worth 0.2 fWAR through two games in a Yankees uniform. Amazingly, McMahon has a higher fWAR than the trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas, who have played a combined 148 games in the infield thus far. LeMahieu provided -0.1 fWAR over 45 games before being unceremoniously cut earlier this month, while Vivas (-0.2) is currently at Triple-A. Peraza and his -0.6 fWAR remain on the active roster, though he’s shifted into a bench role. Baseball-Reference has been slightly more generous, giving Peraza -0.2 bWAR. Boone stuck with LeMahieu and Peraza until he couldn’t anymore, and it’s partly why the Yankees have dropped to 5 1/2 games back in the AL East. Injuries and age took their toll on LeMahieu, who only played second after returning from calf and hip problems. Peraza owns a .152 average and .452 OPS in 170 plate appearances. We’ll see if McMahon can elevate the Yankees, who open a pivotal four-game set with the rival Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Ryne Sandberg died on Monday at 65 after battling prostate cancer. His death came a day after the 2025 class was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apparently the former second baseman’s health status was the worst-kept secret over the weekend. MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi said on X that Wade Boggs had cried when mentioning Sandberg during an interview with Morosi recently. Boggs had cried because he knew his Hall of Fame classmate of 2005 was in declining health. Veteran MLB reporter Jayson Stark said that there was sadness around Cooperstown as people prepared to hear the news about Sandberg. Sandberg played in Major League Baseball for 16 seasons from 1981-97. He played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and became a beloved figure in the city. Sandberg earned 10 All-Star selections, nine Gold Glove Awards, and seven Silver Slugger Awards while in Chicago. Sandberg also was named National League MVP in 1984 and led the NL with 40 home runs in the 1990 season. Sandberg first announced in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. A positive development then followed in August when Sandberg revealed that tests had detected no more cancer in his body following treatment. However, Sandberg announced just a few months later that his cancer had returned. Additionally, Sandberg revealed that the cancer had spread to his other organs as well. After retiring as a player, Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, his third year on the ballot. He also had his No. 23 retired by the Cubs later that year and briefly had a stint from 2013-15 as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg’s first MLB team.
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