ASU 1st-rounder Brandon Aiyuk leaves 49ers practice with injury

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers had two key players leave practice early Sunday with rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk and edge rusher Dee Ford each suffering lower-body injuries.

There was no immediate word on the extent of the injuries.

Aiyuk grabbed the back of his left leg after pulling up on a deep pass during team drills and didn’t return. The first-round pick out of Arizona State had been one of the more impressive players early in camp and is being counted on to be a big contributor this season.

The Niners have been hit hard by injuries at receiver already with starter Deebo Samuel sidelined all of training camp with a broken foot that could force him to miss time at the start of the season. Jalen Hurd tore his ACL during camp and will miss the entire year and Richie James Jr. will miss the start of the season after breaking his wrist during offseason training.

Aiyuk was San Francisco’s 25th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. The 22-year-old broke out as a junior in 2019, racking up 1,192 receiving yards on 65 catches for eight touchdowns. His teammate, N’Keal Harry, also was a first-round pick the year before, allowing Aiyuk to emerge as the No. 1 pass-catching threat in the Sun Devils’ offense.

The Niners held their fourth straight day of padded practices Sunday as the team tries to get back up to speed after a virtual offseason and late start to camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco has a scheduled day off on Monday before four more scheduled padded practices starting Tuesday in the final portion of an abbreviated training camp.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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