SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers ended the 2024 season as one of the most injured teams in the league, and while they’re getting some prominent players back, they’ll open training camp with plenty of expected contributors still working their way back from various ailments.
The Niners, who will have the full squad report on Tuesday, announced Friday that six players will start training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list and two more have landed on the active/non-football injury list.
Among those landing on PUP, the 49ers will feel it most at wide receiver, where Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and Ricky Pearsall, who missed most of organized team activities with a hamstring injury, won’t be immediately available.
Pearsall’s presence indicates at least a slight setback after coach Kyle Shanahan said during the team’s mandatory minicamp that the second-year wideout was expected to be ready for the start of camp.
Aiyuk, meanwhile, is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 7. His status for the start of the regular season remains up in the air.
Offensive lineman Andre Dillard (ankle) and defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos, safety Malik Mustapha and linebacker Curtis Robinson, all of whom have been dealing with knee injuries, also landed on PUP. From that group, Gross-Matos and Dillard were also slated to return for the start of camp, Shanahan said in June.
Elsewhere, offensive lineman Ben Bartch and safety George Odum will open camp on the NFI list.
Players who start camp on the active version of the PUP or NFI list count against the 90-man roster but can be activated at any time and are able to participate in team meetings during recovery.
