While the San Francisco 49ers offense has not been healthy together for a single snap this season, there was a chance that the group could all return at full health as soon as Week 10. While that is not looking like the case for Brandon Aiyuk, that does appear to be the case for left guard Ben Bartch.
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Kyle Shanahan noted last week that the team thought there was a chance that they could open the practice window for Aiyuk as soon as this week. It would give the 49ers three weeks to activate Aiyuk so that he could practice before taking up a roster spot. However, Shanahan confirmed that would not be the case this season.
That puts Aiyuk’s Week 10 status in doubt. You would typically like someone coming back from a major injury like that to take a week or two of practice before returning, which is why they give you three weeks for the window. If they saw Aiyuk playing in two weeks, they would likely open his window to get him on the field, at least in a limited capacity.
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Ben Bartch could return soon
On the flip side, the return of Bartch to practice should signal that he will play as soon as Week 10, with an outside chance to play this week. Given the time that he was out, the stadium he is about to play in, and the two games coming up being division games, it makes sense for the 49ers to let him practice this week and then activate him before the Rams game next week.
This move is underrated, but could be massive. Connor Colby has played like a seventh-round rookie, and while he held up for a few weeks, San Francisco has played Nick Zakelj in each of the last two weeks, indicating that they cannot afford any more snaps of Colby.
Bartch could be average, or even slightly below average, and it would be an upgrade from what is currently happening at left guard.
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Brock Pudy and Ricky Pearsall are much harder to gauge, because these two have been week-to-week. Both have been out more than four weeks, so it would have benefited the team to put each on the Injured Reserve, but they did not anticipate either being out this long.
At the latest, they have to be eyeing Week 10 for their return as well. There could be a chance that Aiyuk is the only one missing on offense in that game.
