49ers’ Deebo Samuel thriving in ‘weird’ camp as Brandon Aiyuk sits out

SANTA CLARA — Brandon Aiyuk’s absence remains glaring from 49ers practices. Just ask Deebo Samuel, who is racing through training camp with renewed vigor and the lightest frame of his career.

“It’s kind of weird, for sure,” Samuel said Wednesday. “I remember last year, we were playing the Giants (without an injured Aiyuk), and I went to him to say, ‘Bro, I never knew how weird it was not to be on the field at the same time.’ ”

Will they ever be on the field together again?

Aiyuk...