Brandon Williams will wear #17

It's been a slow start to the 2021 season for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. He has just six receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown through four games this season. Unfortunately, those aren't the type of numbers fans envisioned for the second-year player coming off an impressive rookie campaign. Head coach Kyle Shanahan urges everyone to have some patience with Aiyuk, who he sees as an essential part of the 49ers' future success. This afternoon, the coach joined KNBR and was asked if San Francisco's offense could reach its potential without Aiyuk. "No, definitely not," Shanahan responded on the Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show. "And if not him, [then] somebody. We need a lot of guys to step up. There's five eligibles. [Deebo Samuel

What the heck have the 49ers done with Brandon Aiyuk? That has been the primary question for this 2-3 San Francisco team since Week 1, when the promising receiver, who had an impressive rookie season, was out-snapped by free-agent addition Trent Sherfield 27-26. Drafted 25th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, Aiyuk burst into the spotlight last season, especially late in the year, catching 60 passes for 748 yards overall. In fact, in a six-game stretch from Weeks 7-15 (not including the two games he was on the COVID-19 list), the rookie averaged 94.7 receiving yards, catching 7.5 passes on 11.5 targets per game. The most important part: Aiyuk played on no lower than 76% of the offensive snaps during those weeks, which is a feat he's

Brandon Aiyuk has been the talk amongst 49ers fans after his slow start to the season. He has only caught eight passes for 90 yards over the team's first six games, despite breaking out as a rookie, having caught 60 passes for 748 yards and five touchdowns, leading the team in all three of those categories in 2020. Last week, John Lynch spoke about his second-year receiver and stated that Aiyuk "hasn't made the strides [the 49ers] have expected him to," sparking a controversy about whether the team's been misusing him, or if there's really something different about Aiyuk. Still, Lynch, who spoke with NBC's Matt Maiocco, has given his utmost confidence in the 25th

Could rookie Trey Lance's first NFL start be on the horizon? San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters before today's practice and provided an update on starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The veteran passer will not practice today during the team's first of three practices this week. The 49ers coach added that Garoppolo has not been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, though. "It's better today, which is good news," Shanahan said. "Not enough, though, to let him go [in practice], but also not enough to rule him out. The doctors still say [to] give him another day. He's got a chance [to play on Sunday], so we're still holding out for that." Added Shanahan: "We're just waiting for the swelling to go