2026 Off Season Activities / Camps

[KDawg]

With OTA's right round the corner, the WR group will receive significant coverage, scrutiny and analysis.

If Jayden does have difficulty trusting receivers and other than Terry and Deebo perhaps not being able to trust any of the group, it will be interesting to see how things play out.

By all accounts the receivers highly outed for their route running abilities are Terry, Williams and Jefferson.

Jefferson has received little attention thus far as most of us figure he is odd man out. I mean he isn't that fast and really is just another slot...but he can separate and run routes well.

Should be a good competition for the back end of the WR group (assuming they bring in at least one legit WR2)...yeah, I know what happens when you assume

I’m not sold that Jefferson IS the odd man out yet. There is potential for anyone after Williams to be the guy left off the roster for a variety of reasons.

Honestly, I hope they keep the best 6. Whoever those six are. The only two who are uncuttable are Terry and Williams.

If a guy like Burks is going to make the jump a lot of us are hoping for, he’d have to show it early. Being mediocre in camp doesn’t show he’s going to pull it off.

My ideal receiver group:

X: Burks, McCaffrey
Z: Terry, Brown
Slot: Williams, Lane

Having said that, if Lane isn’t up to snuff and Jefferson is his regular self - keep Jefferson.

Aiyuk slots in at X, which in my scenario, if he’s on the active roster, would mean Brown/Lane/McCaffrey are in a battle.

And I’m not sure the odd man out is Brown in that scenario. Could be. But he has chemistry with JD that we haven’t seen yet with Lane and McCaffrey.

I don’t mean to write those guys off - I actually like their potential. But unrealized potential is just false hope. Hopefully they make forward strides in their development.

 

[Riggo44]

He’s also a giant homer.

 

[Riggo44]

Aiyuk slots in at X, which in my scenario, if he’s on the active roster, would mean Brown/Lane/McCaffrey are in a battle.

And I’m not sure the odd man out is Brown in that scenario. Could be. But he has chemistry with JD that we haven’t seen yet with Lane and McCaffrey.

That's an easy choice for me--Brown is gone. Lane and McCaffery are terrific returners, if nothing else. Brown does not offer that.

As someone who is expecting more production out of Lane and LMC, you are right; unrealized potential is just hope right now

 

[KDawg]

That's an easy choice for me--Brown is gone. Lane and McCaffery are terrific returners, if nothing else. Brown does not offer that.

As someone who is expecting more production out of Lane and LMC, you are right; unrealized potential is just hope right now

It would depend on how close they are on the field for me. But I’d give an advantage to those guys because of specs and they are under contract - something we don’t have a lot of.

But if Brown is playing much better and has a better understanding I’d move on.

It’s all in the performance for me.

 

[SkinDeep]

I think Lane is 99% likely to make the team. He did too well as a punt returner to cut.

 

[burgold]

I worry that we have almost nothing but bubble receivers.

Lane, McCaffrey, Burks, Brown, and Van Jefferson are all bubble guys. All are cuttable and all are keepable. For the moment, I'm giving Williams the benefit of the doubt that he's a cut above the rest.

 

[Kalu44]

I think Paulsen was just talking about general formations that “look like” Kyle day 1. By no means did I think he meant the offense produced like it. “Looks” and “runs like” are two different things.

 

[DWinzit]

Our OTAs begin Wednesday. The team and staff should finally be all together

It is also when the Niners OTAs begin. Will Aiyuk show and will he be in uni

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Our OTAs begin Wednesday. The team and staff should finally be all together

It is also when the Niners OTAs begin. Will Aiyuk show and will he be in uni

He could, but I don't know why he would.

Supposedly, the 49ers told Aiyuk that he would never play for them again.

I don't know what his motivation would be to go workout with them.

 

[KDawg]

He could, but I don't know why he would.

Supposedly, the 49ers told Aiyuk that he would never play for them again.

I don't know what his motivation would be to go workout with them.

So they don't PUP him, essentially.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

So they don't PUP him, essentially.

I don't think he would care whether they did or not.

Especially if he can't be put on the PUP list if he isn't injured.

 

[KDawg]

I don't think he would care whether they did or not.

There are a whole list of reasons why he would.

It’s actually a DNR/Did Not Report List. He wouldn’t count against the cap for them if he is on that list and CAN be fined for not reporting. 50k/day, I believe.

There is a lot of uncertainties with the contract. Some say that even on that list he triggers the roster bonus if he is on the roster Sept 1st.

But until then he is under contract and can be fined for not reporting to mandatory team activities. Which can add up real quick.

He kind of has to report.

 

[Dah-Dee]

There are a whole list of reasons why he would.

It’s actually a DNR/Did Not Report List. He wouldn’t count against the cap for them if he is on that list and CAN be fined for not reporting. 50k/day, I believe.

There is a lot of uncertainties with the contract. Some say that even on that list he triggers the roster bonus if he is on the roster Sept 1st.

But until then he is under contract and can be fined for not reporting to mandatory team activities. Which can add up real quick.

He kind of has to report.

Agree with all of this except the roster part. It's my understanding that players on the DNR/LeftTeam list do *NOT* count against the team's roster (or cap). Thus, if Aiyuk fails to report on June 9, SF will undoubtedly place him on that list for the 2026-27 NFL year (note: teams have to wait 5 days after initial failure to report to place player on list, during which period the referenced fines accrue), avoid/void the Sept. 1 option, basically repeating what they did last year when he stopped showing up for rehab/team meetings, and just let him rot there for the remainder of his contract.

Unless Aiyuk plans to retire - which feels like at least a possibility given how flaky he's been the last couple of years - he should (realistically, must) report for the first mandatory 2026 event beginning on June 9.

The smart thing to do would be to report next week for the optional stuff, and at the same time let the team know he *will* report on June 9. There's at least some possibility, even given how petty the whole thing has gotten, that SF would then release him June 1 to realize small cap savings rather than have the media/etc. distraction of Aiyuk in camp on June 9. I guess the question is, will Aiyuk do the smart thing?

 

[Conn]

It’s pretty simple now, we’ll know if Auyik is in his right mind and actually wants to play football here with Jayden (for better or worse) by his actions. If he doesn’t report they can essentially end his career with no further impact to their roster, just the losses they’re already counting against their cap and egos. If he reports in half-decent health, things get interesting and he puts them in a spot where they have to make a decision, especially bc once he’s back the local media has access to him, his teammates, and 49ers decision-makers constantly, and the distraction will grow louder the more he participates and acts like a semi-normal human being.

We find out very soon if Aiyuk is a habitual moron, or if he wants to keep playing football as merely a moron-dabbler.

Could go either way. I won’t be surprised if he never plays football again and loses the battle of egos to both himself and the 49ers.

 

[DWinzit]

Agreed and all the more to go out and get a solid WR2 someplace else...I'd be scouring for a trade partner

 

[SkinsGuy99]

He kind of has to report

But not for OTAs. They are voluntary.

He's only required to report to mini-camp in June and training camp in July.

And the 49ers cannot punish him for not being there according to the CBA. Lest they'll be the ones getting the penalty (fines and/or loss of draft picks).

 

[KDawg]

But not for OTAs. They are voluntary.

He's only required to report to mini-camp in June and training camp in July.

And the 49ers cannot punish him for not being there according to the CBA. Lest they'll be the ones getting the penalty (fines and/or loss of draft picks).

Right. Thats semantics, though. I refer to all the mini camp stuff as OTAs. The early ones are voluntary, the June one is mandatory. But you’re correct on semantics.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I worry that we have almost nothing but bubble receivers.

Lane, McCaffrey, Burks, Brown, and Van Jefferson are all bubble guys. All are cuttable and all are keepable. For the moment, I'm giving Williams the benefit of the doubt that he's a cut above the rest.

Lane and McCaffrey are making the team. Lane is a second year player who is a weapon on punt returns, McCaffery is the primary kick returner and a really good one.

They really want both of them to develop as WRs. We'll see how that plays out, but they are both making the team.

Van Jefferson, for what it's worth, is almost identical to what we had in Noah Brown in 2024. Like identical stats. Jefferson is a little better.

Absent another signing or somebody taking a huge step forward, the top 3 WRs in game one will be McLaurin, Williams and Jefferson.

 

[burgold]

I get the feeling they want it to be Burks if we don’t sign anyone.

 

[Higskin]

A timely clarification of the 49ers/Brandon Aiyuk situation here by Lombardi, particularly with regard to the misconception some have that the 49ers must release Aiyuk by the start of the season, or be stuck paying him. This is not the case. If Aiyuk does not report for camp and OTAs, the 49ers can continue to withhold any payment, including the roster bonus that would otherwise be owed to Aiyuk In late August.

(1) If Aiyuk doesn’t show up at the 49ers facility ready to participate, the team can attach a DNR (Did Not Report) designation on him for as long as he is absent.

(2) That DNR tag means not only would they not have to pay him, they could FINE him in the neighborhood of $50K per day for each day he fails to report. That fine would be stripped out of any future contract Aiyuk might sign, and the money then handed over to SF.

(3) If Aiyuk is tagged with a DNR, he no longer counts toward a roster spot, and the team can and will carry a full 53 man roster (or 90 man before the cut), even though Aiyuk is still under contract.

The bottom line is:

The only party who can dislodge the 49ers from their complete control of Aiyuk, is Aiyuk himself—and only by reporting for training camp. As long as he stays away, the 49ers can withhold all pay, bank up $50K per day against him in fines (payable when he signs somewhere else), enjoy a full roster without him, and block him from playing football anywhere else. If Aiyuk does not report, the 49ers could simply sit on him until 2029, not pay him a dime, functionally ending his NFL career. People who think Aiyuk can just hide and wait until September are woefully mistaken.