49ers place three on COVID-19 list, including Trent Williams & Brandon Aiyuk

The Green Bay Packers’ next opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, have seen player after player go down with injuries this season. Now, with the Thursday night game’s status in doubt due to positive COVID-19 tests on both teams’ rosters, the Niners will be without a few more critical members of their offense.

According to media reports, the 49ers have placed three more players from their offense on the reserve/COVID-19 list after having been designated “high-risk close contacts” to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who reportedly tested positive on Tuesday. The three players are all starters: left tackle Trent Williams and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. The news was first reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

This offseason, Williams came over via a trade from Washington, where he made seven straight Pro Bowls, and has continued his high level of play in the Bay Area. Samuel was already listed as out on the injury report this week, but Aiyuk’s absence will rob the 49ers of their most explosive remaining playmaker. It also will prevent the Packers from playing against one of the wide receivers whom they apparently had targeted in the 2020 NFL Draft — the 49ers traded up to 25th overall to select Aiyuk, after which the Packers moved up to number 26 to pick Jordan Love.

49ers beat writer Matt Barrows notes that the team’s expected starting offense will be barren of normal starters:

Stay tuned to APC for updates about the status of the game on Thursday, which is still currently set to be played despite the multiple COVID designations and positive tests.