Evidently, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch is as ready for the Brandon Aiyuk ordeal to be over as we are. With less than a month until the start of the 2024 NFL regular season, there is still no resolution to it. No one wants to see this continue until the start of the regular season.
At this point, there are even fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers who just want this to be over. Even if that means Aiyuk staying in San Francisco. And that’s what Lynch wants too.
“It’s been a long, arduous, hard process, hard journey,” Lynch said on Murph & Markus on KNBR Friday morning. “We started this early, and for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to get it across the finish line. That’s been frustrating…I can tell you we feel the urgency to have him. The season’s approaching and we have ample time.”
The Aiyuk ordeal is putting Lynch in a bind. He has to balance what’s best long-term for the 49ers with continuing to push for a Super Bowl win this season. What’s best for the 49ers in 2024 is to have Brandon Aiyuk on the field. He’s been a dynamic and highly efficient wide receiver, especially over the last two seasons.
However, Lynch can’t simply fork over a blank check to Aiyuk. QB Brock Purdy is going to need a contract soon, and that’s not going to be cheap. And there’s the not-so-small matter of their 11-time Pro Bowl LT Trent Williams, who also wants a new contract. Hence, the Aiyuk contract situation does not exist in a vacuum financially.
So Lynch feels the tension that he’s carefully navigating as the general manager. And then there’s the matter of the season fast approaching. Aiyuk has been at practice but simply watching and not participating. The longer he’s on the sideline, the longer it will take for him to be ready to play in 2024.
“The good news is Brandon is a really, really hard worker,” Lynch said. “He’s taken 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. You know, 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 and 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 2020 draft… And we’re fortunate to have added him to our squad and we’d really like to keep him around. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
Every team and every fan in this situation wants a resolution soon. The Steelers would love to have Aiyuk in the fold as soon as possible. He needs to learn the offense and get into playing shape. The 49ers don’t have to worry anywhere near as much about the playbook, but they need him in game shape as well.
Regardless of the resolution, it’s apparent that everyone is frustrated to some degree. Lynch himself admitted the process has been hard and frustrating. That’s what The Athletic’s Matt Barrows echoed earlier this week, sharing that there was some “frustration, disbelief” in San Francisco with the whole situation.
Even with that frustration, the 49ers have invested time and resources into Aiyuk. They sent the 31st, 117th, and 176th overall picks to the Minnesota Vikings to move up six spots to get Aiyuk in 2020. From Lynch’s perspective, they’ve done a lot to get Aiyuk into the building and develop him. So has the relationship between Aiyuk and the 49ers soured throughout this process?
“No, there’s not bad blood,” Lynch said. “I mean, negotiations can get heated. I think it’s his first time going through that, but no bad blood. If people that are here see Brandon out here, there’s love. A lot of love and respect for the relationship we’ve had and continue to have and hopefully we’ll have into the future.”
Whether Aiyuk feels the same way is up for debate. There was a lot of speculation that Aiyuk felt disrespected by the 49ers’ earlier offers and that’s why he requested a trade. Lynch can feel like everything is great between all parties, and that’s what he says. But that doesn’t mean Aiyuk feels just as warm and fuzzy.
Lynch’s goal is to have Aiyuk in San Francisco for the foreseeable future. That’s why he hasn’t okayed a trade with the Steelers at any point this offseason. Steelers general manager Omar Khan hasn’t blown away Lynch with a trade offer, instead opting for the patient and shrewd approach.
At this point, it seems like everyone involved and the fans are ready for some sort of announcement regardless of the outcome. As for why the saga is still continuing and Aiyuk hasn’t signed the contract offer?
“I wish I knew,” Lynch said.
So do we.
