Where there is smoke, there is fire.
That has been the case all day Monday revolving around the status of Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers. Reports/rumors have been rampant on Aiyuk being traded. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network has gone as far as to say that Aiyuk is more likely to be traded than agree to a contract extension.
No deal is reportedly in place, but it is no secret that teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers have been targeting Aiyuk. This is all starting to heat up because Aiyuk has missed 10 days of training camp with no signs of him returning. Last week Kyle Shanahan said that there aren’t any new updates on contract negotiations with Aiyuk.
At this point, it seems like the two sides aren’t getting anything done. It’s just a matter of who is going to blink first and it certainly isn’t going to be the 49ers unless it is for a trade, which looks to be gaining momentum. Is it time to panic on Aiyuk remaining with the 49ers?
Absolutely. All of this news coming about today, both from credible and random sources, is not a coincidence. I’d imagine Aiyuk and the 49ers have shown each other that neither side is going to budge. Aiyuk can either take the offer from the 49ers that he deems unfit for him, play on the last year of his rookie deal, or accept a trade.
Trading Aiyuk isn’t the wisest course of action for the 49ers, but at this point the relationship might be fractured beyond repair. There is also the case of Trent Williams who the 49ers are certainly putting more focus on than Aiyuk, and that situation doesn’t seem close to being resolved.
Again, Aiyuk’s patience is likely reaching a boiling point and he now finds himself at a fork in the road in his career with the 2024 regular season nearly a month away. The 49ers shouldn’t trade Aiyuk given this is their last best chance to win a Super Bowl. And Aiyuk should probably just accept the deal from the 49ers or play on the last year of his deal.
Wherever Aiyuk ends up is not going to benefit him for his career and he will essentially hurt his second contract extension in the future. There’s no telling how this situation between the 49ers and Aiyuk will end up, but one thing that is for sure is that it is now at a high-level of concern.