Speculation about Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the San Francisco 49ers has been rife for quite some time. At the heart of transaction rumors for a year, the pass catcher is entering the last year of his contract
Speaking to a small group of reporters Monday afternoon at the NFL league meetings, 49ers general manager John Lynch made the most emphatic statement yet: Not only is Aiyuk unavailable for a trade, but the team has already begun talking with Aiyuk and his representatives about the terms of an extension that would keep him in San Francisco long-term.
“We are actively talking with Brandon to try to find a solution. We’re used to working with the guys we want to advance to get things done and it takes two parts. Can we make it happen? We will see. There are several possible directions, but we really like Brandon and what he is as a player. We want him to be a part of the Niners. We will work to make this a reality,” added Lynch.
Lynch confirmed the Niners were approached by other teams to gauge their interest in Aiyuk, but Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan rejected those overtures.
But that hasn’t stopped the conversation from continuing, in large part because of the Niners’ growing roster, which includes highly paid stars like Trent Williams, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa as well as stars offensive players Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
Last year, Aiyuk made 75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 touchdowns, earning him second-team all-star honors in the NFL.
“There’s nothing better than recruiting a player, developing him, watching him flourish and rewarding him,” Lynch said. That’s really what we would like to do. »
While Lynch is optimistic that a deal with Aiyuk can be reached, he also made it clear that it won’t be easy.
On Monday, Lynch also explained the accounting error that cost the Niners a fifth-round pick in 2025 and four spots late in the fourth round this year.
According to Lynch, during the 2020 season, the Niners overpaid a player by $75,000. While that payment didn’t put them over the salary cap, they didn’t find out until the fall of 2022. After trying to get the money back, the 49ers ended up reporting the error to the league. Lynch said it was because of that delay that the NFL decided to penalize the team as much as it did, even though he disagreed with the penalty.
“I have a difference of opinion on the severity of the punishment,” Mr. Lynch said. We take responsibility for what happened […]. We take our share of responsibility, we’ve gone through a whole series of mitigation measures to address some of the issues that have occurred, but the league has decided to impose this. So, we take our medicine and move on. »
2024-03-25 18:32:28
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