As the Brandon Aiyuk saga with the San Francisco 49ers continues to drag on, things seem to be changing consistently, making it one of the more odd, frustrating situations from a contractual standpoint in the NFL landscape in a long, long time.
Just a few days ago, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported that there was “one final hurdle” for Aiyuk and the 49ers to get over leading to a long-term deal.
But now, on Saturday afternoon, Garafolo stated on NFL Gameday Kickoff on NFL Network that he doesn’t get the sense that good communication—or any communication at all—has been happening recently between Aiyuk, his agent, and the 49ers’ front office.
“I wish I could give you something new when it comes to Brandon Aiyuk, but we are still in a standoff between him and the San Francisco 49ers now. It’s been about what, a week, since the 49ers made their last offer and got things relatively close,” Garafolo said of the Aiyuk situation, according to video via his Twitter page. “My understanding was they had agreed on the major points of a deal, usually the harder sticking points they have agreed on those, but Aiyuk still wanted a move in the final year of the deal before agreeing to that. That does not sound like that has happened to this point. Now he is in the building and my understanding is there’s been communication, good communication between him and the coaching staff between him and the front office.
“But I don’t get the sense that there’s been good communication or really communication at all recently between the front office and Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, on this one.”
In recent days, Aiyuk returned to training camp with the 49ers and was outside watching practice wearing 49ers gear, interacting with teammates, coaches, and even GM John Lynch.
His decision to return to the facility and be around his teammates signaled that a deal might be close between himself and the 49ers on the long-term extension he’s been seeking. But in recent days, nothing has happened, leading to questions.
Now, based on Garafolo’s reporting, it appears that Brandon Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, and the 49ers haven’t communicated recently, throwing the situation for another loop.
While San Francisco has made it clear they intend to keep Aiyuk and remain the favorites to sign him to a long-term extension over a trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers, at least based on a Saturday morning report from Jeremy Fowler, it’s as fluid a situation as possible, one that seemingly changes every few hours or so.
Just last week, it appeared that the Steelers had a trade agreement with the 49ers but were just waiting for San Francisco to rip the bandaid off with Brandon Aiyuk and move on. That hasn’t happened. Then, Garafolo reported there was one final hurdle to clear, putting the Aiyuk deal with the 49ers on the brink of completion.
That hasn’t happened.
Now, they are reportedly not communicating as the two sides are haggling over what is reportedly an issue with the final year of the extension.
As Lynch said Friday during a radio appearance on KNBR in the Bay Area, hopefully, the whole situation will be resolved soon. Of course, Lynch wants to keep the standout receiver, but the longer this drags on, the sillier and messier it gets. With no communication recently, it seems like things could go off the rails.
“So, until that happens and there’s progress on that front, we continue to have this standoff right now between Aiyuk and the team and between the team and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are lying in wait and would be willing to acquire Aiyuk on a trade that they’ve pretty much already agreed to and a contract that should be done in a matter of minutes,” Garafolo added regarding the situation. “So it’s a three-way standoff and it continues as we sit here into the second week of the preseason.”
It’s like a standoff at the OK Corral, with all three parties waiting for someone to crack and make the first move.
Hopefully, this all ends soon because it’s gone on long enough. But with communication seemingly non-existent recently, that doesn’t seem likely, which will cause the Aiyuk saga, or #AiyukWatch, to drag on longer.
