San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch had his weekly appearance on KNBR Thursday morning and provided injury updates. Lynch echoed NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport’s report about quarterback Brock Purdy having a chance to play in Week 4:
Here’s what Lynch had to say about star tight end George Kittle: George is doing really well. We put him on that short-term IR. He’s not even eligible until after the Rams game. I think Tampa would be the first game that George is eligible. He’s tracking well, putting in a lot of really good work, like George always does. And the cool thing about George, that energy, that presence that Kittle has, it’s really unique and special. He’s been here the whole time, and he’s shown tremendous leadership.
The mini-bye week after Week 5’s Rams game gives Kittle a little more time to return. It doesn’t sound like the 49ers are as optimistic about Brandon Aiyuk returning around the same time. Here’s Lynch on Aiyuk:
No setbacks. I keep coming back to there’s different levels when you do these ACLs, and Brandon had a fairly significant injury, involving a lot of different things in his knee. He’s a really gifted athlete. He’s a very hard worker. And so, when you combine that, you tend to come back at a good clip.
There’s no absolutes on these things, so he’s got to continue to hit markers, but he is tracking well. He’s working hard, and we’ll just continue to do that, and we’ll be a better team when Brandon’s out there. And so, we look forward to that day, but it’s not close. But when we have some more information on that, we’ll be forthright with it.
That’s smart of Lynch not to put a timetable on Aiyuk if it’s earlier than expected, great. If it takes longer, the schedule works in the 49ers’ favor. So long as they keep winning, the team can afford to be patient with their star wide receiver.
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