Jimmy Garoppolo doesn't sound the least bit worried about Brandon Aiyuk. Early in training camp, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback looked to have a good rapport with his top receivers, Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Expectations surrounding the two were through the roof.
Samuel leads the league in receiving with 282 yards and a touchdown on just 15 receptions. That's an 18.8 yard-per-catch average. While the third-year receiver is off to a hot start, Aiyuk has just one reception for six yards. It's not the performance fans expected after watching Aiyuk's impressive rookie campaign.
That, of course, has led to much speculation surrounding what is holding back Aiyuk. The 49ers have repeatedly addressed the situation. However, that hasn't stopped the rampant chatter.
"Honestly, he does a great job in practice every day," Garoppolo told reporters before today's practice. "He brings it—the right attitude, the right mindset. I think it's honestly just a matter of time."
Last week, head coach Kyle Shanahan refuted the speculation that Aiyuk might be in his doghouse, stating that the reduced role had more to do with recent injuries than anything else.
"It's just a pretty simple thing," Shanahan said. "Trent Sherfield has played at a very high level every single day for the entire training camp. Aiyuk got off to a little bit of a slow start, and Trent was playing very well. Then when Aiyuk started to catch him, and, to me, was about to go by him, which was going to be the third preseason game, where I think you guys would have seen that, and he would have got that spot completely back, he tweaked his hamstring."
The injury set him back, but that doesn't mean that the lack of production or opportunities will continue.
Added Garoppolo: "I know there's a lot of panic and things like that in the air, but if you were at practice every day consistently, and you saw what he can do, it's really one of those things that one week it's this guy's game and next week, it's another. That's just kind of how the offense goes. But I think it's truly just a matter of time."
Meanwhile, Aiyuk has learned that nothing is easy when you seek to be among the best.
"I've already started to understand in this league that it's never really just a steady path to the top," Aiyuk said last week. "So, you're gonna have really high moments, low moments, but I think it's all about just how you refocus, how you rebalance and get back on track afterwards."
