Top San Francisco 49ers Pass Catchers Questionable For Matchup Against Dallas

Coming off a demoralizing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers will be without at least one but possibly all three of their top pass-catchers.

Brandon Aiyuk needed to be carted off the field during last Sunday’s game, and ESPN reported that he suffered a torn ACL and MCL, meaning his season will be over. The WR earned a four-year, $120 million contract right before the season started, but he never played to his potential and now faces an arduous rehab process in hopes of being ready for 2025 training camp.

His running mate, Deebo Samuel, tried to give it a go last Sunday but could only muster four snaps, as it was later revealed he had pneumonia. The jack-of-all-trades pass-catcher spent a night in the hospital but was discharged earlier in the week. While he did practice on Thursday, head coach Kyle Shannahan did not confirm whether he would be good to go after meeting with the media.

“So, there’s all different types of levels of it,” he said. “He’s doing much better than; what I’ve learned is pneumonias can be a little bit different. He had kind of a little bit of an unusual one, but he’s doing good enough that he was able to practice today, and hopefully that will continue getting better. And hopefully, he’ll be able to help us out on Sunday.”

Tight end George Kittle missed Wednesday’s practice but was a limited participant on Thursday as he deals with a foot injury coming off a six-catch, 92-yard performance as he enjoys a career renaissance.

With the top of the depth chart banged up, quarterback Brock Purdy will need to rely on rookie 1st-round pick Ricky Pearsall and rookie 7th-round pick Ronnie Bell against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night as they try to get back to .500.