RADIO
Is Brandon Aiyuk out for the season? When is Brandon Aiyuk coming back? The latest Brandon Aiyuk injury update and fantasy football outlook heading into Week 10 of 2025.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) still hasn't played a single snap of football in 2025 after suffering a devastating knee injury in Week 7 of 2024. His leg was struck by a defender while it was planted in the ground, causing his knee to buckle.
The former Arizona State Sun Devil was a top-10 fantasy wide receiver in PPR leagues in 2023, so it was a huge blow to fantasy teams that drafted him last year when he was declared out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL.
We're now nine weeks into the 2025 NFL season, and Aiyuk has had over a year to recover to this point. But will he be able to come back this season, or will he have to make his return in 2026? Let's dive in.
Holiday Special! Save 30% on any Premium Pass using discount code NEW. Win more with our DFS, Betting and Season-Long Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! GAIN ACCESS
Is Brandon Aiyuk Out for the 2025 Season?
There still isn't a timetable for Aiyuk's return, unfortunately, but all communication from the 49ers organization is that he'll return at some point this year. I anticipate he needs at least a few more weeks before he returns. Week 13 is my best guess.
He hasn't had his 21-day practice window opened. It's unclear how long this will be open before they decide it's time for him to take the field again. It could be anywhere from one to three weeks after that window is opened, but 2-3 weeks seems more likely given the severity of the injury.
Damn. There goes Brandon Aiyuk’s ACL#KCvsSF pic.twitter.com/2BDPgJQAor
— Benchwarmer Sports (@bdubsports_) October 20, 2024
Aiyuk revealed in a video he posted online that he also had a "messed up" meniscus, which wasn't listed in the official injury news for him anywhere. Tearing and damaging multiple ligaments and tendons in the knee creates more difficult recovery scenarios than clean ACL tears, which players can return from often in under a year.
#49ers Brandon Aiyuk gave a one week post ACL tear update on his YouTube
Aiyuk said he has walked a little but has been tentative to fully weight bear at this time.
Long road to recovery ahead 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/vDlP3Or6k2
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 28, 2024
The compound nature of the tears is likely what's driving the timetable here. He had a very complex injury that required extensive surgery and a lengthy rehab process that he's not quite done with yet.
Kyle Shanahan on Brandon Aiyuk:
“I’m pretty confident he’ll play eventually. I mean at least open up his practice window.” pic.twitter.com/rkpo5mkR7Z
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) November 5, 2025
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that he'll likely play... or at least open up his practice window!
Brandon Aiyuk 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
The longer the wait for his return drags on, the dimmer the outlook gets. There was hope that he'd be fantasy relevant toward the end of this season. Had he returned exactly a year after his injury, in Week 7, and been healthy enough to play at that point, he could have seen a ramp-up in production.
That could have made him a solid flex play, at worst, by Week 12, and a nice fill-in for injured players in a fantasy playoff push. Instead, it's looking like he'll really only be in play in very deep dynasty leagues, where you basically start any player that has a decent role in their offense in your deepest flex spots.
Brandon Aiyuk is 6'0" 205 pounds, only 26 years old, one of the best route runners in the NFL, and averaged 17.9 yards per reception last season. pic.twitter.com/IAQxWns4Kp
— Billy Hartford (@CamHeywardFan) March 19, 2024
As far as helping you win your redraft leagues, that's probably not happening. It would take a miracle. Depending on him to help you go all the way is an incredibly risky prospect. Instead, it will be better to evaluate whether, and when, you should draft him in your redraft leagues next year.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 10 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Zach Charbonnet, Courtland Sutton, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Parker Washington, Jordan Addison. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 10. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 10 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Zach Charbonnet, Courtland Sutton, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Parker Washington, Jordan Addison. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 10.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 10 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 10 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 10 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 10 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Zach Charbonnet, Courtland Sutton, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Parker Washington, Jordan Addison compared to others:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
