SANTA CLARA -- Throughout training camp, the 49ers had wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk listed as their top punt returner.
It looks as if that is how the 49ers could open the season on Sept. 12 against the Detroit Lions. After all, the other two players listed on the depth chart no longer are on the 53-man roster.
Coach Kyle Shanahan did not reveal who will be the team’s primary punt returner, but when asked if that player is currently on the 53-man roster, he answered, “I believe so. Yeah.”
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Veteran wide receiver Mohamed Sanu said he is comfortable lining up deep to return punts.
“I’ve done it pretty much all my life, honestly,” he said on Thursday. “(I) started in little league, high school, college. Done it in the league. Always caught punts, so it’s always been something I’ve done.”
Sanu, who is entering his 10th NFL season, has returned just 10 punts in his career — all coming in the 2019 season. He had one return with Atlanta and nine with the New England Patriots. He averaged 6.0 yards per return.
Even going back a decade, he was far from a big-play threat in the return game. While at Rutgers a decade ago, he fielded 29 punts and averaged just 4.2 yards a return.
San Francisco 49ers
Yet, Sanu could see action in that discipline with the 49ers this season. He seems best-suited for situations when all the team needs is for someone to call for a fair catch and secure the football.
“If they ask me to do it, I’m going to do it,” he said.
Aiyuk, slated to be a starting wide receiver, is currently rehabbing a hamstring strain.
He was a big-play threat in the return game at Sierra College before averaging 11.7 yards on 25 punt returns in his two seasons at Arizona State.
He had two returns for 26 yards last season as a rookie with the 49ers. He will almost certainly be asked to do more in the return game this season with Richie James going on season-ending injured reserve with a knee condition.
The 49ers cut Nsimba Webster and Travis Benjamin this week. Both returned punts in the preseason. The Chicago Bears claimed Webster off waivers, and Benjamin was re-signed to the 49ers’ practice squad.
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Shanahan said the 49ers did not keep either of those return men on their roster because they were unable to crack into the team’s depth chart at wide receiver ahead of Aiyuk, Sanu, Deebo Samuel, Trent Sherfield, Jalen Hurd or Jauan Jennings.
“Usually, you want one of your receivers or corners to do it,” Shanahan said. “That's kind of how it's been everywhere I've ever been. You need one of those guys to make it. If a guy's on there just for return status, it ends up costing your team. And I do think we have other guys on our team who can do it.”