Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Rashid Shaheed

Thursday, December 18, 4:18 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) has been "extremely distant" from the team since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7 of the 2024 season, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. The 27-year-old has not played a game since that point. The 49ers voided guarantees in his contract for 2026 and placed him on the reserve/left squad list on Saturday, officially ending his 2025 season. All signs seem to indicate that Aiyuk and the 49ers are likely to go their separate ways this offseason. In his last fully healthy season in 2023, Aiyuk recorded 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 targets. He has a chance to get back to his superstar heights if he can get fully healthy and find the right team. However, his health and the way his current situation in San Francisco has unfolded may bring about question marks for dynasty league fantasy managers.

Tuesday, December 30, 10:57 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver/kick returner Rashid Shaheed (concussion) was listed as limited in Tuesday's practice session, according to Josh Dubow of The Associated Press. Shaheed is in the league's concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in the first quarter of Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers. It's good news that the 27-year-old wideout was on the field on Tuesday, but he has some boxes to check before he can get cleared before Saturday night's big divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. If Shaheed doesn't get cleared to play in the Week 18 regular-season finale, it would open up Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, and AJ Barner for more targets in the passing game. When healthy, Shaheed is a boom/bust deep threat for Seattle, who has been hard to trust as a WR4/flex in fantasy. In his eight games with Seattle, he has 14 receptions on 25 targets for 186 yards and no touchdowns.