Receiver Brandon Aiyuk files paperwork to be reinstated to the 49ers

Receiver Brandon Aiyuk has applied to be reinstated to the San Francisco 49ers from the reserve/left squad list and plans to report to the team later this week.

Aiyuk's new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Wednesday that Aiyuk has officially submitted his paperwork to the NFL to get back and is planning to return to the 49ers on Friday.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he believes that the front office has been in touch with Aiyuk's agent, but he had no reaction to the news.

“I have no expectation,” Shanahan said. “Kind of moved on with that mentally and everything. ... Nothing’s really changed for me.”

Aiyuk hasn’t played a game in more than two years since going down with a knee injury in October 2024 and has been on the reserve/left squad list after leaving the Niners late last season.

He fired agent Ryan Williams during his long-running dispute with the 49ers and was without representation until he recently hired Rosenhaus.

Aiyuk will remain under contract with the 49ers after he is reinstated by the NFL. San Francisco general manager John Lynch previously has said he doesn’t expect Aiyuk to play for the Niners again.

Shanahan said any resolution to Aiyuk's place on the roster, including a possible trade or release, wouldn't happen until after he reported. When asked if there was a chance Aiyuk could play for San Francisco again, Shanahan said, “there are no absolutes in life.”

The 49ers previously voided $27 million guaranteed in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026 for failing to participate in meetings and other team activities last summer when he was rehabilitating his knee injury.

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension just before the start of the 2024 season following a lengthy contract hold-in that kept him out of training camp. He was coming off a 2023 season when he had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns and was a second-team All-Pro.

Aiyuk had only 25 catches for 374 yards in seven games in 2024 before getting injured. The 28-year-old has 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs since being drafted in the first round in 2020.

Bosa returns to practice

Defensive end Nick Bosa returned to practice after missing the past five games with a left calf injury. Bosa said he believes he initially got hurt because he was overcompensating for the tendinitis in his right knee as he came back from ACL surgery.

“I may have been favoring it a little bit,” he said. “I was just doing my normal warmup drills one day, and I tweaked it. Calves are a pretty long process. I’ve never had one. It took a little longer than I expected.”

The 49ers opened the practice window for cornerback Nate Hobbs (groin) and receiver Demarcus Robinson (ankle), who have been on injured reserve. The team has three weeks to decide whether to activate them.

San Francisco had several key players out of practice, with running back Christian McCaffrey (hamstring), receiver Mike Evans (Achilles), receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and safety Siran Neal (knee, foot) all out.

McCaffrey said the week off helped his recovery, and Shanahan said he hopes to get him back at practice on Thursday on a limited basis.

Shanahan was less certain about Evans, although he said he has made progress after missing the game before the bye.

“I think he’s going in the right direction,” he said. “It’s something we definitely got to be smart with. But we’re not going to overly do it. We just want to wait until he’s healthy, and he’s still working his way to get there.”

Samuel is expected to miss at least one more game.

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