Kyle Shanahan shoots down potential Brandon Aiyuk return amid 49ers' WR injuries

Though 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan gave an open-ended answer about San Francisco's current wide-receiver options, one thing is for certain.

When asked if Brandon Aiyuk would be considered, Shanahan replied with a simple "no."

It wouldn't be football season without the 49ers losing some key players to injury.

Last year, San Francisco lost practically its entire front seven. And two weeks into the 2026 NFL season, the 49ers' wide-receiver group already has taken a significant hit.

Ricky Pearsall was lost for the season during training camp, and Christian Kirk is on IR with an injury suffered on the opening day of practice. De'Zhaun Stribling was injured in Week 1 and is set to miss at least 10 weeks. And in the first half of Sunday's 35-13 win over the Miami Dolphins at Levi's Stadium, Demarcus Robinson went down with what appears to be a high ankle sprain, per Shanahan.

Now, a position where the 49ers initially appeared to have plenty of depth is beginning to look dangerously thin behind Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel -- two players already on the wrong side of 30. Shanahan was asked postgame about the team's current plans to shore up their receiver room.

"I mean, we'll see. It has been unfortunate," Shanahan told reporters. "You know, it was big losing Stribling last week. You guys know how big it was losing Ricky over the summer, and then losing D-Rob today was huge.

"Christian Kirk's got a couple of weeks before he can come back, but we still got a group of guys out there that we have played with that have done things. So, I'm sure we'll have to add somebody, whether it's a practice squad or to the roster, but those are things we'll start discussing tonight and hopefully have an answer by Wednesday."

Kirk isn't eligible to come off of IR until Week 5, so the 49ers could use some extra help in the meantime.

If it wasn't already clear, the Aiyuk era in the Bay seems over, no matter how dire the circumstances.

Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and KhaDarel Hodge are the other receivers on the active roster, besides Evans and Samuel. Rookie wideouts Wesley Grimes and Will Pauling are on the practice squad and could be elevated to the 53-man roster. Or, San Francisco could look elsewhere, whether it's through the trade market, free agents or other teams' practice squads.