49ers Place Brandon Aiyuk on IR, Bring Back Former WR in New Roster Moves

Getty San Francisco 49ers WR Malik Turner

The San Francisco 49ers are making their first moves after confirming that Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL this past Sunday.

San Francisco is now down another major name after Aiyuk’s knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs. How they address Aiyuk’s absence is not clear, but they are adding former WR Malik Turner to the practice squad.

“The San Francisco 49ers announced they have promoted DL Evan Anderson to the active roster from the team’s practice squad,” the 49ers stated on October 23. “In order to make room on the roster, the team placed WR Brandon Aiyuk on the Injured Reserve List. In addition, the team has signed OL Dieter Eiselen and WR Malik Turner to the team’s practice squad.”

Turner is a 7-year veteran in the NFL, but has not played a regular-season snap since his 2022 stint with San Francisco. During that season, Turner did not receive a passing target in 3 games and was primarily playing special teams.

Anderson is a UDFA signing from this year’s draft cycle, who has been called up twice this season. In the 30-13 win over the New England Patriots, Anderson earned a sack and a forced fumble late in the game.

49ers Add Depth at OL, WR

Turner may not be a proper replacement for Aiyuk, but he makes sense as a practice squad addition. He has experience with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, and has plenty of experience in the NFL.

Turner’s most productive season happened in his 2019 season with the Seattle Seahawks. Over 15 appearances, Turner caught 15 passes for 245 receiving yards and a touchdown. He also had a solid season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, making 12 catches for 149 yards and three TDs.

As for Eiselen, he brings experience to the practice squad as well. Eiselen is a veteran backup, but has made 24 appearances with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans. He also made two postseason appearances during Houston’s playoff run in 2023.

It remains to be seen if Shanahan and the 49ers will utilize either player, but both should be solid veteran presences on the practice squad.

San Francisco Unsure About 4 of Their Pass-Catchers

On top of losing Aiyuk, the Niners have several other receivers with issues. On October 21, Shanahan broke down all of the injuries San Francisco is navigating.

“Alright guys, injuries from the game: [WR] Chris Conley had an ankle sprain, he will be day-to-day, [TE] George Kittle, foot sprain, day-to-day, [WR] Deebo Samuel [Sr.], he had kind of an odd illness, some fluid in his lungs so technically pneumonia,” Shanahan said.

Besides those three receivers, San Francisco was without WR Jauan Jennings against the Chiefs and his recovery timeline isn’t certain.

As for Deebo, he has seemingly overcome his pneumonia and is out of the hospital according to ESPN reporter Nick Wagoner. But in terms of being ready for the Week 8 clash against the Cowboys, Shanahan is not sure.

“We’ll see how he recovers here over these next couple days,” Shanahan said. “…Once we found out he had the fluid in his lungs and stuff after the game, then I believe they sent him over there. I’m not sure the timeline of it, but I just found out that’s where he was Sunday night when I was at home.”