The 2024 NFL season kicks off in 20 days, pushing the urgency for the San Francisco 49ers and receiver Brandon Aiyuk to come to some sort of resolution.
The saga has twisted and turned at a dizzying level.
Initially, the 49ers insisted they wouldn't part ways with the ascending wideout. Then, they fielded calls ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft but didn't pull the trigger. Then, the club returned to its stance that it wanted Aiyuk on the field this season. Then, as he held-in during training camp, the club discussed trade options with several teams. At that stage, he seemed destined to be traded. Then, word came back that a long-term extension wasn't off the table. And this week, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that San Francisco has a deal in place with Pittsburgh to consummate if Aiyuk does not sign in San Francisco long-term.
Given the approaching season, one would think a pathway would have been chosen already. Instead, Aiyuk continues to attend practices he won't participate in.
On Friday, general manager John Lynch said that he understands the "urgency" of the matter but declined to say what the odds were of Aiyuk staying in San Francisco.
"You know, I'm not going to characterize any chances or anything," he said. "I can tell you this, it's been a long, arduous, hard process, a hard journey. We started this early and for whatever reason haven't been able to get it across the finish line. That's been frustrating, but the communication still has been really good both with Brandon and his agent, and we're trying to figure out solutions. You know I'm always hopeful. I'm an optimistic person in nature, and I'm always hopeful that we'll get there and get there soon. I can tell you, we feel the urgency to have him, the season's approaching, and we have ample time.
"The good news is Brandon is a really, really hard worker, he's taking great care of himself this offseason, he's in fantastic shape, but there's things you have to do on a football field and getting yourself in there with our team. So we're working hard, and hopefully there's a resolution soon. That's all I can share with everyone, I understand the angst of everyone, I understand there's been all kinds of stories and talk, that's what people do these days. I don't like that part of it, but we love BA as a player, I think you see it every time he goes out there representing the Niners, he's a guy we traded up for in the first round back in the '20 draft, I remember doing it from my guest house during the covid times, and we're fortunate to have added him to our squad, and we'd really like to keep him around. So we'll see how it goes."
Lynch insisted he didn't know what the holdup was at this point.
"I wish I knew, I wish I knew," he said. "As I said, we started early, and it's consumed a lot of our time, my time. I don't like that it's taken this long, but it has, and you deal with the challenges that you're faced with."
Lynch added that there is no animosity between the club and Aiyuk.
"No, there's not bad blood," he said. "I mean, negotiations can get heated; I think it's his first time going through that, but no bad blood. I mean people that are here see Brandon out here, there's a lot of love and respect for the relationship we've had and continue to have and hopefully will have into the future."
It's not the first time the Niners have dealt with elongated negotiations. They went through a similar hold-in with Deebo Samuel. Nick Bosa's massive contract didn't get settled until September last year. They're also dealing with a Trent Williams holdout this season.
"You know one thing (other GMs) always say is 'Man, we'd love to have your problems," Lynch quipped. "You've got a lot of great players there.' And I think that's kudos to our entire organization."
The hope is that soon there will be a resolution so the Niners can return to chasing that elusive sixth Lombardi Trophy.
