Team news: San Francisco 49ers | Page 1

With concern about the status of receiver Ricky Pearsall's injured right knee, the San Francisco 49ers are turning to a familiar face, bringing back wideout Deebo Samuel to the place where he began his career. Sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Thursday night that the 49ers and Samuel reached agreement on a one-year deal that could be worth up to $7 million.

Related Players: Mike Evans, George Kittle, Christian Kirk, De'Zhaun Stribling, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing

With Kirk (calf) also on the sideline throughout training camp, this signing quickly quelches the flames of the Stribling buzz we've seen over the last couple of days.

If you were looking for the perfect landing spot for a Deebo Samuel bounce-back after a mediocre one-year stint with the Commanders, this is the one. With 49ers injuries at the running back position as well as the WR room, Samuel could add a handful of rushes into the mix as well. That doesn't make him a WR2 all of a sudden, but he's still an intriguing dart throw, depending on where his ADP ends up after this signing.

49ers RB Jordan James suffered a rib fracture in Monday’s practice. He will miss some time.

S Malik Mustapha has a hamstring strain. Neither practicing today, obviously.

Related Players: Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black, Isaac Guerendo, Sincere McCormick

"Some time" seems like an undersell for a rib fracture, but we shall see. With Guerendo currently on the PUP list, this should give some extra run for rookie Kaelon Black, but there's also a chance we could see the team find some help on the free agent market as well. Black is instantly more intriguing behind CMC, potentially the most used back in the league.

49ers WR Ricky Pearsall is dealing with knee swelling related to the PCL injury he suffered last year. Team says “all options” are being explored and there is some concern.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson, De'Zhaun Stribling

Pearsall has flashed when healthy and on the field, but that hasn't been a very common occurrence through his young career. Kirk is also dealing with a calf strain at the moment, so we could see some upward momentum for rookie De'Zhaun Stribing before camp is over. He's currently off the redraft fantasy radar, but we should keep an eye on some extra snaps for him over the next month.

49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is making a positive early impression on a very important teammate.

“Dude is a baller, and I mean that,” Purdy said on KNBR, via 49ersWebzone.com. “It’s hard to say that for a rookie, right off the jump, but just seeing him run routes, going up against defenders in OTAs and then in camp yesterday. He’s a great route runner. He’s smart. He’s learned the playbook really quick, which is awesome. And then, on top of that, you can see his strength, too. When he’s going up against guys and creating separation, I’m like, ‘Alright, this guy’s a strong receiver.’ And so, I’m excited to see what he does, but all of us, all the quarterbacks in the room, were like, ‘Alright, this guy’s going to be a guy that’s going to come in and play.’”

Related players: Mike Evans, Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson

As the story points out, Stribling joined the 49ers with the top pick of the second round and the selection drew some negative reviews because of who else was available at that point in the draft. Purdy seems impressed with the rookie but Stribling will have some spots to climb on the depth chart. However, Evans is coming off a year where he had hamstring issues and Kirk is already dealing with a calf sprain. So there certainly seems to be a path toward playing time for Stribling.

Jordan James was clearly the RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey

Related players: Kaelon Black, Isaac Guerendo

Graham added James has the potential to carve out a nice role for himself this season. CMC was able to collect another big workload last season, but the star RB has, of course, had injury issues in the past, so knowing who his handcuff will be is a big deal as we head into fantasy drafts. There's a long way to go, and James will have to deal with Black and Guerendo. But, James has been getting attention for this role for a while now, and looks poised to be the RB2.

49ers general John Lynch didn't fully say the team was done with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but said the team is "going to focus on the players that are here."

"Brandon is on a left squad designation," Lynch said, via ESPN. "As such, he's not on our 90-man roster. And I'm personally and we as an organization are going to focus on the players that are here. And so, I don't have anything to say on that, anything to add to that. We wish him well. We wish his family well."

That sounds like the 49ers are moving on from Aiyuk. He is currently not counting against the 90-man roster for the 49ers because of his "left team" designation, which Aiyuk has had since December when he stopped showing up to the team's training facility. Aiyuk has not played since suffering ACL, MCL and meniscus injuries in his right knee in Week 7 of the 2024 season. San Francisco has held on to Aiyuk in the hopes a potential trade would come to fruition.

Aiyuk would have to apply for reinstatement to the NFL. He has commented on wanting to join the Washington Commanders, including reportedly purchasing a home near the Commanders' practice facility. For what it's worth, Washington visits San Francisco on October 19.

49ers TE George Kittle is inactive for Sunday Night Football against the Bears.

Kittle did not practice all week due to a sprained ankle and is now officially out for a key Sunday night game. Jake Tonges will step in as the top tight end and has some streaming potential if you are in a pinch. Elsewhere, WR Ricky Pearsall is active.

49ers are listing TE George Kittle and WR Ricky Pearsall as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Bears.

Related Players: Jake Tonges, Jauan Jennings, Kendrick Bourne, Demarcus Robinson

Jennings has really come along over the last month-plus so we should still expect him to be a very solid fantasy asset, whether Pearsall is in or not. As for Kittle, we need to have a contingency plan since they don't play until Monday night. Colston Loveland would be a fantastic option on the other sideline if he's available.

49ers John Lynch on KNBR:

George Kittle likely a game-time decision Sunday night on if he can rush back from MNF ankle injury to face Bears

Fred Warner excelling at his ankle rehab where 49ers re-examining a potential playoff comeback

Related Players: Jake Tonges

Phew, this is a rough one considering it's the final game of the Fantasy Championships. The safest play is likely to find a TE streamer you can plug in, but if you want to roll the dice with Kittle, make sure you have either Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, or Jake Tonges on your roster. We would rank them in viability in the order listed.

49ers tight end George Kittle is dealing with a “mid-to-low ankle sprain,” per source.

Kittle said, and we reported it this morning, he believed he avoided a high ankle sprain. While that's the case, his status is at least up in the air for now for Week 17. As we also said this morning, the Niners play the Sunday night game, so things could get tricky for Kittle owners in what is likely their fantasy finals.