There’s never a dull moment at 4949 Marie P. DeBartolo Way. The San Francisco 49ers have been a staple on the transaction wire during August. Unfortunately, it’s not for the reasons the team wants. Injuries are mounting. The Niners have churned the bottom of their roster unlike any team in the NFL during the preseason.
General manager John Lynch is an optimist. He joined KNBR Thursday morning to provide injury updates, timelines for potential returns, and the status of the 49ers’ wide receiver room.
Let’s start with the team’s highest-paid player in the wide receiver room, Brandon Aiyuk.
Unsurprisingly, Lynch said, “I think we feel comfortable saying he’s not going to be there Week 1, and then, it will probably be some time after that.” It was always far-fetched that Aiyuk would be ready by Week 1, especially after suffering ACL and MCL tears, along with other damage to his knee.
Now that we know it’s all but official that Aiyuk will begin the season on the PUP list and miss the first four games, the schedule sets up for the 49ers star wideout to return in Week 6, not Week 5. San Francisco travels to Los Angeles to face the Rams on Thursday night in Week 5.
A mini-bye week will be followed by a trip across country to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers. If Aiyuk’s rehab continues to go well, and Lynch said, “He’s recovered well,” then Week 6 becomes more realistic for Aiyuk.
Lynch didn’t want to put firm dates on Aiyuk’s return: “I’m not going to put exact timelines, but hopefully, sometime in this season, he’s playing the type of football we know, when he’s out there, that he is expected to, and expects himself to play at. And it’ll be a big boost to our team.”
Russell Gage’s injury
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that wide receiver Russell Gage would miss a little over a week on Thursday morning. Lynch revealed when Gage’s MCL sprain occurred:
That’s one of those ones, we were out at practice, we were doing 1-on-1s, and at first, I thought he had his ankle. It looked like it buckled. I think, given what I saw on the field — Russell’s been having a really good camp — and I was standing with Kyle [Shanahan] right when it happened, and we just said, ‘Oh, no,’ because it looked like his leg buckled.
So, I think a slight MCL sprain was actually welcome news. He will miss some time. We expect him to be ready for our opener, and I think that was somewhat — it’s not ideal — but it’s better than the alternative with what we saw. But he’s working through that.”
Demarcus Robinson’s suspension
Lynch didn’t have much of an update about Robinson’s suspension. He’ll miss three games. Based on how Robinson looked during the preseason, he should be one of Brock Purdy’s go-to targets. Robinson looked extremely comfortable in Shanahan’s offense. It was a promising sign.
Lynch said, “We’ll be respectful of that, and when the league makes their final determination, everybody will know right along with us. I think we’re at the stage of it, and you guys will know when we will know.”
The 49ers don’t sound like they’re expecting to win Robinson’s appeal and are likely preparing to play the first three games without him, which is why these other injuries at wide receiver hurt.
Lynch looks at the bright side
Hearing Lynch talk about how many injuries the 49ers have in the receiver room is somewhat surreal, even though we know it’s accurate:
With Aiyuk being on PUP, we started with 13 guys. And now, we’re down to — at one point yesterday, I think we had seven out there.
Lynch believes the deceleration and all of the running the wide receivers do is tough on their bodies, and the team is trying to account for that. But you can’t put everybody in bubble wrap. Lynch said, “There is a way to keep guys healthy, and that’s to do nothing. But we want to get better. We’ll have enough guys come Week 1 to put a formidable group out there.”
There was “coach speak” during Lynch’s interview. He had phrases like “We like our players” and “We like our group of guys.” That group could include Robbie Chosen:
Robbie’s done a nice job, been a welcome surprise. He can still get it. He can still run. The beauty today — we never had it — but these guys wear GPS things on their back, and after every practice, he’ll clock some of the highest speeds we have out here. And he’s starting to make some plays. We all saw it at the end of the Raiders game, but we see it out here at practice. As long as he continues to do that, there’s a place for him.
Lynch didn’t have any panic in his voice: “Now, we’ve got to keep the guys who we have healthy. We’ve got to find a way to get from here to there. But that’s what our calling is. That’s what our job is. So, we’ll do it, and we’ll figure out a way, and we’re going to be all right.”
