Will Brandon Aiyuk Return Earlier than Expected from his Knee Injury?

Ten years ago, Brandon Aiyuk's knee injury might have been a career-ender.

He didn't just tear his ACL during the 49ers' Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He also tore his MCL and his meniscus. Which means he almost certainly will not be ready for any part of training camp, and he probably will miss Week 1 at the very least.

And yet, the 49ers have said for the past couple months that Aiyuk is decidedly ahead of schedule. ESPN recently tried to decipher what that means.

"ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on his podcast that he 'would think [Aiyuk's] ready to play by midseason' even with his recovery going well," writes ESPN's Dan Graziano.

"While Aiyuk was present for minicamp in San Francisco, no reports out of the building indicate any change to that timeline. General manager John Lynch echoed that rehab is going well, but he 'wouldn't put a timeline' on Aiyuk's return. Coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that Aiyuk would likely start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

"Critically, inclusion on the PUP list during training camp does not force Aiyuk to miss any regular-season games. If he remains on that list after the 53-man roster cut deadline in late August, then he'll be required to miss at least the first four games of the season.

"We almost certainly will not see Aiyuk in pads running routes and taking hits this summer, but how much work he does on side fields could help predict his availability for that first month of the season -- and maybe beyond."

Keep in mind, Aiyuk missed all of training camp last year as he held out for a new contract, then he played the worst football of his career for the better part of two months before getting injured. So rushing Aiyuk back onto the field after missing training camp for the second season in a row might not be wise. His best season came in 2023 when he also had the best offseason of any player on the team.

I'm guessing Aiyuk will indeed start the season on the PUP List, and the 49ers will keep him on the shelf until they absolutely need him. I also wouldn't be surprised if they trade him before the trade deadline, considering they tried to trade him during the Combine in February and were unsuccessful.