49ers sign Equanimeous St. Brown to 1-year deal; no timeline for Aiyuk to return
The San Francisco 49ers moved to shore up their wide receiver corps at the start of training camp by signing Equanimeous St. Brown, brother of Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The team announced Tuesday that St. Brown had been signed to a one-year deal; contract terms were not available. The eight-year veteran signed with the New Orleans Saints last year on a one-year, $1.25 million deal but spent most of the 2024 season on the practice squad.
The 28-year-old native of Placentia, California, was originally drafted by Green Bay in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. St. Brown spent four seasons with the Packers and also played two seasons with the Chicago Bears.
St. Brown was among several receivers the 49ers brought in to their Santa Clara headquarters for workouts Monday to help address one of their main issues going into the 2025 season. Top receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still rehabilitating from a brutal knee injury last season, and general manager John Lynch told reporters on Tuesday that while his progress is encouraging, the team is "not anywhere close to having a set-in-stone timeline [for his return]."
Injuries, departures, and contract issues among wide receivers have led to uncertainty over how the 49ers will fill the gaps heading into training camp practices starting Wednesday. Aside from the departure of free agent veteran Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders, both Aiyuk and second-year receiver Ricky Pearsall are starting training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
In addition, fifth-year wide receiver Jauan Jennings is reportedly seeking either a new contract or a trade, although Lynch said Tuesday that Jennings was in camp and has not formally asked for a trade.
"You guys know our feelings on J.J. He embodies what, you know, what we think a Niner's all about," said Lynch. "We're not going to get into the contract talks and all that. That takes care of itself, but you know, we love him and he's here."
While Aiyuk is not expected to be ready at the start of the regular season after tearing his ACL and MCL, Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated Pearsall is likely to miss just a few training camp practices after injuring his hamstring during offseason workouts in May.
"[Pearsall] is fine. We just haven't seen him the last two weeks," said Shanahan. "We're not going to throw a wide-out out there the first three days. We don't want to pull it again until we see his conditioning and everything, which we should get in three days, and then he should be good."
In addition, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, who signed a two-year, $95 million contract in March, is facing a possible three-game suspension after pleading no contest earlier this month to a misdemeanor DUI charge from November while a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
