Latest news with #Brandon Aiyuk
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9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
49ers may have 2 big issues at key offensive position entering training camp
Instability at wide receiver was one of the main reasons the San Francisco 49ers struggled last season. Brandon Aiyuk didn't participate in virtually any of the preseason because of a contract dispute. Then he struggled out of the gates before sustaining a major knee injury in Week 7. Deebo Samuel was up-and-down and dealt with pneumonia. Ricky Pearsall missed the first six weeks because of a gunshot wound, and his fellow draft pick Jacob Cowing wasn't able to find regular offensive snaps. This year it will largely be the same group with a smattering of new veterans and a couple of rookies entering training camp. For the 49ers wide receivers the preseason will be all about steadying the ship at a position that's been rocky since last offseason. Here's a look at each wide receiver on the 49ers roster to start training camp: Brandon Aiyuk It seems improbable that Aiyuk will return at some point during camp. We haven't been given a firm timeline on his return though so it's certainly possible he suits up before the regular season begins. The important thing with Aiyuk will be avoiding setbacks in his rehab. We'll also keep an eye on whether he's out on the field with his teammates since that's usually a good sign of progress in his recovery. Expectations can be recalibrated if he does return to practice. Jauan Jennings Last season Jennings was the third WR in camp with the potential to fall to No. 4 behind first-round pick Ricky Pearsall. This season he is the team's top WR on the depth chart with Aiyuk out. How Jennings attacks camp with new expectations will be interesting. His play style is noticeably physical, so it'll be clear if he's approaching the preseason sessions any differently. That play style gives us reason to believe there won't be much drop off from Jennings, who is also entering the final year of his contract with San Francisco. We're expecting a big camp from him. Ricky Pearsall It is all about health with Pearsall. Even before the attempted robbery that left him with a gunshot wound, Pearsall dealt with hamstring and shoulder injuries in training camp. This year he had a hamstring issue that cost him OTAs. He can very clearly play. That was evident in his on-field flashes last year. He just needs to be available so he can start carving out a consistent, significant role in the receiving corps. The arrow is pointing up for the 2024 first-round pick as long as he's on the field. Demarcus Robinson It says a lot about the 49ers receiving corps that they may be relying heavily on Robinson this season. He has been a really reliable player for the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams in his career. Reliability is something the 49ers receiving corps desperately needs. Robinson may get pushed into WR2 snaps this season. History says he'll be equal to the task. A strong camp from him would go a long way toward ensuring some of the stability the 49ers need. Jacob Cowing Camp this year will be all about reps for Cowing. He's obviously a talented athlete with a ton of tools to thrive in San Francisco. Last year he struggled to get on the field, though. If he's getting regular first-team reps in camp -- he's in a good spot going into the year. If he's struggling to get those snaps, it doesn't bode well for the 2024 fourth-round pick's chances of sticking with the team that drafted him. Jordan Watkins The 49ers took Watkins in the fourth round of this year's draft which bodes well for his chances to make the team. He also put together a strong showing in OTAs. We're watching to see if Watkins can bring over the physicality he played with in college to the NFL once the pads come on. If he can navigate the middle of the field early in his pro career it could pave the way for some early snaps in an offense that's notoriously difficult on rookie WRs. Junior Bergen Bergen is all about the return game. The seventh-round pick from the University of Montana had a decent career in the Big Sky as a pass catcher, but his bread and butter was in the return game. He averaged 23.9 yards per kick return and took one back for a touchdown. As a punt returner he took back a whopping eight punts for touchdowns, including three as a senior when he returned only 10 punts all year. If Bergen makes the team, it will be because he lit it up in punt returns in camp. Russell Gage It'll be interesting to watch Gage in a training camp setting. He tore his patellar tendon in training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two years ago. Last year he was with the Ravens in camp before being released at final cuts. Gage is now two years removed from his knee injury which provides some optimism that he may be able to return to something close to the player who averaged 56 catches for 572 yards and three touchdowns across 74 games in his first five seasons. If he does find that form, he has a real chance to stick and play real snaps on the 53-man roster. Isaiah Hodgins The San Jose native had a breakout second season in the NFL with the New York Giants when he had 37 receptions, 392 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games. He hasn't been impactful since then with only 23 catches in 20 games. We'll be watching to see if Hodgins is playing special teams at all. He has only three special teams snaps in his career. If he is and he's effective, it will be his path to a roster spot. Terique Owens Owens is back for a second season with San Francisco after spending most of last year on their practice squad. He has good size at 6-3, 200 pounds and the pedigree of being Terrell Owens' son. If he's going to make any noise it would likely come on special teams where he'll have to be impactful if he's going to have any real staying power. Malik Knowles The Minnesota Vikings signed Knowles as an undrafted free agent from Kansas State last year. He was waived at final roster cuts and picked up in October by the Green Bay Packers for their practice squad. Knowles was an excellent kick return in college who posted three career kick return TDs. If he starts getting regular work in the return game in camp it would be a good sign for him. Isaiah Neyor The undrafted rookie is listed at 6-4, 218 pounds. Neyor caught the eye of some of his veteran teammates at OTAs. He'll have an uphill climb up the depth chart in camp, but keep his name in mind because he has all the physical tools to be a UDFA steal. Other training camp previews We looked at the stability in the 49ers QB room and Brock Purdy's first "normal" training camp. It's all about Christian McCaffrey's health for the article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers depth chart: WR full of question marks entering training camp
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9 hours ago
- Sport
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49ers injury designations give disgruntled WR more leverage in contract talks
The San Francisco 49ers on Friday lost a little bit of leverage in Jauan Jennings contract talks when they placed two of their top wide receivers on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk both went on the PUP list as they recover from injuries ahead of training camp. Aiyuk starting camp on PUP isn't a surprise. He tore his ACL and MCL, and took additional damage in his knee in Week 7 last season. It doesn't sound like the club is eager to rush him back, so a training camp return isn't likely. Pearsall landing on PUP changes the dynamic of the 49ers WR room and gives Jennings additional leverage as he seeks a contract extension with San Francisco. We've already explored the 49ers' shaky WR depth and how there's a strong chance Jennings could land in the WR1 role like he did last season when he led the team's WRs with a career-best 975 yards. A potential holdup for the 49ers in dishing out a more lucrative contract to the 2020 seventh-round pick is what his role looks like in the future. Paying him as a WR1 or WR2 isn't something they were banking on after giving Aiyuk a massive extension last offseason and drafting Pearsall in the first round of last year's draft. There were question marks about Pearsall's ability to stay healthy after he missed virtually all of last year's camp with hamstring and shoulder injuries. Those question marks resurfaced again in OTAs this year when Pearsall sat out because of a hamstring injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated during OTAs that Pearsall's absence was cautionary and that he'd be ready for training camp. That Pearsall is on PUP to start camp is a significant red flag for the second-year WR. It also puts the top of the 49ers WR depth chart into more flux. Jennings' claim to a new contract hinges on the stability he brings to a group clouded by uncertainty. He's been on the 49ers' active roster for four seasons and has played in 60 games. In 2023 he missed four total games, but outside of that he's never missed more than two in a season. It appears going into camp this year that Jennings will be the 49ers' WR1 by a significant margin. Even if Pearsall returns and has a strong preseason, his injury questions will linger and there's still no certainty around Aiyuk for this season and beyond. The 49ers may have been able to justify not extending Jennings if they could stand behind Pearsall as WR1 and Aiyuk as an eventual WR2 this season. That becomes much more difficult to do with Pearsall out to begin camp. There's a significant risk in potentially losing or rocking the boat with Jennings and sending the 49ers' WR corps into a tailspin that derails their offense into 2025. That dramatically outweighs the risk of financial complications with a new contract for Jennings. If the answer wasn't clear for San Francisco before, the PUP list designations should help. More 49ers: 49ers need huge year from their non-QB MVP if they're going to return to playoffs in 2025 This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Ricky Pearsall injury changes Jauan Jennings contract talks for 49ers
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a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
49ers' Jauan Jennings gets trade update during contract dispute
The 49ers can't afford to lose another wide receiver. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last week that Jennings, who is in the final year of his contract, wants an extension or to move on to a new team. As training camp gets started it appears San Francisco will be keeping the wide receiver around. Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported that a Jennings trade is "unlikely" according to a league source. There's a couple reasons for this. The first, and most important, is that the 49ers' wide receiver situation is one of the worst in the league. Brandon Aiyuk just received his new contract but suffered a torn MCL and ACL in October that's put his status in jeopardy to start the season. Deebo Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders. Second-year wideout Ricky Pearsall is recovering from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him to start training camp. That leaves Jennings, who led all 49ers' receivers with a career-high 77 catches, 975 yards, and six touchdowns last year. He appears to have some leverage with the lack of wide receivers available but the 49ers don't have the capital to give him a massive extension. After handing out big contracts to Aiyuk and Brock Purdy, San Francisco has had to cut key players to make the money work. So with no plans to trade him and a lack of financial flexibility, where does that leave John Lynch and the 49ers' front office? Could a player of Jennings' caliber warrant a holdout during training camp? It's drama that San Francisco was hoping to avoid after dealing with Aiyuk's holdout last offseason. Unfortunately for them, it's as tumultuous as it was a year ago. MORE: Seahawks make NFL history with rookie contract to build new 'Legion of Boom' under Mike MacDonald
