Brandon Aiyuk is a 49er! Pick #25, 2020 NFL Draft

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by 49ers81:
Bleacher Report, which I'm indifferent to, and ESPN I think, have called Aiyuk's contract one of the worst in the league. John Lynch says that there are no issues between Aiyuk and the team and that he is recovering well from his surgery. All of those things can be true at the same time. It will be up to Aiyuk to go out and prove the first one is false. Let's hope he does. If he misses any significant time at all he is, literally, going to have to hit the field running, because any time he misses gives Watkins and Cowling an opportunity to shine.

We WANT Watkins and Cowing to shine. Right now the first 3 games are going to be one of them as the #3 WR it seems.

Jennings and Pearsall are penciled in as starters. Cowing is assumed to be WR3. 4 and 5 are entirely up to the new kids TAKING the jobs.

I'm not saying I don't want them to do well. I hope they do. The point is that it will be incumbent upon Aiyuk to come back and show that all of the money the 49ers paid him wasn't a mistake and that he has more to offer the team than Pearsall, Watkins, and Cowing whose combined salaries probably won't come anywhere close to what Aiyuk is getting. If the three of them can produce the same kind of numbers that Aiyuk and Deebo put up in 23' then what the heck did they pay Aiyuk for?

aiyuk is great. our front office is the one to blame for late negotations

Originally posted by picklejuice:
aiyuk is great. our front office is the one to blame for late negotations

Nah. Basically the same contract that was offered to him in Feb was what he got anyways when he signed. It was very similar, at least from what was reported

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by picklejuice:
aiyuk is great. our front office is the one to blame for late negotations

Nah. Basically the same contract that was offered to him in Feb was what he got anyways when he signed. It was very similar, at least from what was reported

This. Aiyuk himself admitted he made it more difficult than he needed too.

Originally posted by Hysterikal:

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by picklejuice:
aiyuk is great. our front office is the one to blame for late negotations

Nah. Basically the same contract that was offered to him in Feb was what he got anyways when he signed. It was very similar, at least from what was reported

This. Aiyuk himself admitted he made it more difficult than he needed too.

And there's that too lol

Originally posted by DRCHOWDER:

Brandon Aiyuk // 7 months post surgery 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/WsOmuTnZVz

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) June 12, 2025

He looks poorer than he did before he got his contract. BA looks like a homeless vet.

Originally posted by 49ers81:

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by 49ers81:
Bleacher Report, which I'm indifferent to, and ESPN I think, have called Aiyuk's contract one of the worst in the league. John Lynch says that there are no issues between Aiyuk and the team and that he is recovering well from his surgery. All of those things can be true at the same time. It will be up to Aiyuk to go out and prove the first one is false. Let's hope he does. If he misses any significant time at all he is, literally, going to have to hit the field running, because any time he misses gives Watkins and Cowling an opportunity to shine.

We WANT Watkins and Cowing to shine. Right now the first 3 games are going to be one of them as the #3 WR it seems.

Jennings and Pearsall are penciled in as starters. Cowing is assumed to be WR3. 4 and 5 are entirely up to the new kids TAKING the jobs.

I'm not saying I don't want them to do well. I hope they do. The point is that it will be incumbent upon Aiyuk to come back and show that all of the money the 49ers paid him wasn't a mistake and that he has more to offer the team than Pearsall, Watkins, and Cowing whose combined salaries probably won't come anywhere close to what Aiyuk is getting. If the three of them can produce the same kind of numbers that Aiyuk and Deebo put up in 23' then what the heck did they pay Aiyuk for?

Don't expect it this year. I just want him back to 2023 form by the end of this year. It's going to take time to get there.

Originally posted by Scoots:
Don't expect it this year. I just want him back to 2023 form by the end of this year. It's going to take time to get there.

That's what I hope but let's get real most players are never quite the same after an injury like that, if he was a go up and get it kind of guy like Jennings, Mike Evan's, Jefferson, or Metcalf Inwouldnt be as concerned but Ayuiks skill set is mainly crisp route running

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by Scoots:
Don't expect it this year. I just want him back to 2023 form by the end of this year. It's going to take time to get there.

That's what I hope but let's get real most players are never quite the same after an injury like that, if he was a go up and get it kind of guy like Jennings, Mike Evan's, Jefferson, or Metcalf Inwouldnt be as concerned but Ayuiks skill set is mainly crisp route running

Frank Gore was pretty good after 2 ACLs, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp ... there is some good evidence that players can come back and have speed and cuts. I do think it may shorten their careers, but AP was good for a several years after his injury.

I don't think we can assume anything about injuries as we get better at surgery and recovery and training.

Originally posted by 49ers81:
I'm not saying I don't want them to do well. I hope they do. The point is that it will be incumbent upon Aiyuk to come back and show that all of the money the 49ers paid him wasn't a mistake and that he has more to offer the team than Pearsall, Watkins, and Cowing whose combined salaries probably won't come anywhere close to what Aiyuk is getting. If the three of them can produce the same kind of numbers that Aiyuk and Deebo put up in 23' then what the heck did they pay Aiyuk for?

Aiyuk in 23 averaged nearly 18 yards per catch and had ridiculous separation and efficiency . Just saying I know we're all quick to forget but he was playing at a high high level that i wouldn't expect any of the young guys to just come in and replicate

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by Scoots:
Don't expect it this year. I just want him back to 2023 form by the end of this year. It's going to take time to get there.

That's what I hope but let's get real most players are never quite the same after an injury like that, if he was a go up and get it kind of guy like Jennings, Mike Evan's, Jefferson, or Metcalf Inwouldnt be as concerned but Ayuiks skill set is mainly crisp route running

Frank Gore was pretty good after 2 ACLs, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp ... there is some good evidence that players can come back and have speed and cuts. I do think it may shorten their careers, but AP was good for a several years after his injury.

I don't think we can assume anything about injuries as we get better at surgery and recovery and training.

This is more than an ACL it's also an MCL with nerve damage. I think he'll still be solid but I'm not holding my breath that returns back to form

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by Scoots:

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by Scoots:
Don't expect it this year. I just want him back to 2023 form by the end of this year. It's going to take time to get there.

That's what I hope but let's get real most players are never quite the same after an injury like that, if he was a go up and get it kind of guy like Jennings, Mike Evan's, Jefferson, or Metcalf Inwouldnt be as concerned but Ayuiks skill set is mainly crisp route running

Frank Gore was pretty good after 2 ACLs, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp ... there is some good evidence that players can come back and have speed and cuts. I do think it may shorten their careers, but AP was good for a several years after his injury.

I don't think we can assume anything about injuries as we get better at surgery and recovery and training.

This is more than an ACL it's also an MCL with nerve damage. I think he'll still be solid but I'm not holding my breath that returns back to form

AP tore both too as did Godwin I think. It makes sense to wait to see if he can come back, I was just saying that players HAVE come all the way back in the past so it IS possible.

Originally posted by Scoots:
AP tore both too as did Godwin I think. It makes sense to wait to see if he can come back, I was just saying that players HAVE come all the way back in the past so it IS possible.

Yeah AP did tear both dudes a freak of nature though and I dont think nerve damage was reported. Its possible but it would seem 80-90% of players are never the same. I want to see if he bounces back but with all the dead cap we created this year I almost feel it might be smart to take what we can get and take the cap hit now rather than later

Originally posted by Since07:

Originally posted by Scoots:
AP tore both too as did Godwin I think. It makes sense to wait to see if he can come back, I was just saying that players HAVE come all the way back in the past so it IS possible.

Yeah AP did tear both dudes a freak of nature though and I dont think nerve damage was reported. Its possible but it would seem 80-90% of players are never the same. I want to see if he bounces back but with all the dead cap we created this year I almost feel it might be smart to take what we can get and take the cap hit now rather than later

My initial point was that doctors and trainers are getting better at getting players back to 100% after those injuries so it's not hopeless, he could be all the way back by the end of the year. It's POSSIBLE even if it might not be likely.

Void years are part of the reason the 49ers are keeping so much cap space this year ... they are going to roll most of it over because those void years are going to come due and they are planning to have space for them.

The fact that they are rolling over that cap space is in part so they can make those decisions to move on from a player when it's needed.

If Aiyuk's deal had been signed 3 months earlier I kind of feal like he might not have been injured :/ (not that that is logical)