Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Zachariah Branch

Thursday, July 30, 1:32 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said in January that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) would never play for the organization again, but has the team's stance changed following a potential season-ending knee injury to Ricky Pearsall? The Niners signed the 28-year-old Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract in August of 2024, and then the former first-rounder from Arizona State played in only seven games that year before suffering a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Aiyuk was looking like an ascending young wideout before getting a big new deal, recording back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with 15 total touchdowns in 2022 and 2023. His knee injury kept him sidelined for all of last year, at which point the off-the-field issues between Aiyuk and the 49ers started, causing the team to void the remaining guarantees in his contract. San Fran was hoping to trade Aiyuk this offseason, but they found no takers. He is on the left-squad list for the start of training camp, and the 49ers have been expected to cut him eventually. But with Pearsall likely done for the entire 2026 season, Aiyuk could be the team's locked-in WR2 behind Mike Evans if the two sides can put the past behind them. This scenario feels like a long shot, but we've seen crazier things happen.