Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Alec Pierce

Tuesday, July 22, 2:37 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch says the team is "encouraged" about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's (knee) recovery from the ACL and MCL tears that ended his 2024 season last October. However, Aiyuk is "not anywhere close to having a concrete timeline" to return to practices, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Aiyuk was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list on Friday, which means he can theoretically be activated at any point this offseason. Nevertheless, previous reporting has indicated Aiyuk is unlikely to be ready to go for the start of the regular season. In his absence, San Francisco will rely more heavily on receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson, and Jacob Cowing. Rookie fourth-round wideout Jordan Watkins could also get more of a look in camp.

Tuesday, July 29, 3:28 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (foot) returned to practice Tuesday after sitting out Monday with a blister in his foot. Pierce has stood out early in camp as he enters a contract year. The 25-year-old led the NFL with a sky-high 22.3 yards per catch and picked up seven touchdowns in 2024, but he only caught 37 passes on 69 targets. Pierce continues to deal with a less-than-stellar situation at quarterback with Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson Sr. vying for the job. There are also a handful of other Colts who could eat into his targets. Pierce finished third on the team in targets last year, trailing well behind Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, and the Colts have since added first-round tight end Tyler Warren.