49ers place Brandon Aiyuk on reserve/left squad list, ending 2025 season

The San Francisco 49ers have officially placed wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list, ending his season before it could ever begin. Aiyuk, who has been recovering from a Torn ACL/MCL he suffered in the 49ers game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 10, 2024, has not appeared in a game this season.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan and General Manager John Lynch have spent the entire season feeding fans hope that Aiyuk would return at some point, but that does not appear to be the case. Per The Athletic‘s Matt Barrows, this move likely means that Aiyuk either plans on retiring or joining a new team in the offseason.

The 49ers today put Brandon Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list, which officially ends his 2025 season. The reserve/left squad list is usually applied to players who plan to retire or who have quit their team.

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 13, 2025

Aiyuk, who has spent his entire six-year career with the organization after being selected in the First Round of the 2020 NFL Draft, has hauled in 294 career catches for 4,305 yards and 25 touchdowns. His best career season came in 2023, when he recorded 105 catches for a career-high 1,342 yards and seven scores.

At multiple different times this season, 49ers brass has iterated that Aiyuk would be back on the field at some point. Prior to the season, John Lynch seemed confident that he would be back sooner than later.

“There’s just steps that you have to continue to hit and I’ll continue to say that Brandon is doing well in his rehab,” Lynch said. “Do we have an exact date right now? No. I don’t think it’ll be Week 1, but hopefully I’m surprised. We want him fully healthy. He had a significant injury, so you have to do a significant rehab.”

Brandon Aiyuk’s status in San Francisco is completely up in the air

Alas, it appears as if the Arizona State alum’s time with the organization is coming to an end. He finishes with the 14th most receiving yards in San Francisco 49ers history.

Without Aiyuk on their receiving core this season, San Francisco sits at 9-4 and seems poised to return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus. With no true WR1 on the roster, superstar running back Christian McCaffrey leads the Niners in receiving with 806 yards and five scores. Wide receivers Kendrick Bourne (482 yards) and Jauan Jennings (458) sit in second and third place, way behind McCaffrey.

If Aiyuk is to depart the organization this offseason, it would leave Jennings as the lone remaining wide receiver from San Francisco’s 2023 Super Bowl runner-up team. All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel shocked the football world by forcing a trade to the Washington Commanders this offseason, and it appears as if Aiyuk could be next.