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It's a good thing that San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver
Brandon Aiyuk got a little offseason work in with his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. His training camp was cut short by a hamstring injury.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is optimistic that Aiyuk will be suited up and ready to go for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, which is just nine days away. He'll need to get back onto the practice field next week, though. Typically, failing to practice at all, leading to a game, will severely diminish a player's odds of playing.
Shanahan said on Wednesday that he hopes to get both Aiyuk and second-year wideout
Deebo Samuel back next week. The latter suffered a Jones fracture in June but has been seen ramping up his workload during rehab.
Aiyuk hasn't had the benefit of a normal offseason. Typically, a rookie would have already received significant on-field work before reporting to training camp. COVID-19, of course, changed that.
Jimmy Garoppolo was asked on Wednesday what he saw out of Aiyuk before the injury. The quarterback praised the first-year player.
"[Brandon], when he's out there, he's ready to play,"
Garoppolo said. "He's always ready, always prepared mentally, physically. He's able to bring an element to the game. It's unique.
"He's so long, his catch radius, you can put the ball anywhere around him, he's going to make a play on it. And so, it's nice having a guy like that. That little comfort blanket, who he's going to make the tough catches, the contested catches, and make you look good doing it."
Shanahan joined KNBR on Thursday and didn't sound too concerned last week about Aiyuk missing valuable time.
"You've got a guy like Aiyuk, who if you had told me he pulled his hamstring and missed training camp, I'd have huge concerns about him," Shanahan said on the
Tolbert, Kruger & Brooks show. "What is good about Aiyuk is that the two weeks that he did get in, and how prepared he was for those two weeks, he didn't just show up to camp and expect to take a couple of weeks to get into it.
"He really spent his offseason in Zoom meetings, and his time away from us, where he wasn't allowed to see us, he really took advantage of that time. So he had a good two weeks, which will give him a chance to, when he comes back and healthy as a rookie, to where maybe he does have a chance to get out there. Where if you are a rookie and you miss all of camp, that's just too much to put on a guy."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
According to Sports Illustrated contributor Noah Strackbein, who writes for "All Steelers" on the network, there's a level of confidence within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization that they can strike a deal for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk—and at a bargain rate.
"According to a team source, the Steelers and 49ers trade talks are real," Strackbein wrote. "While nothing is imminent, they 'would be surprised if it didn't happen.' But it all comes down to compensation, and Pittsburgh isn't willing to budge much on price."
While it seems unlikely that the 49ers would part ways with Aiyuk for anything less than a first-round draft
It's evident that the San Francisco 49ers engaged in long-term financial planning. Much discussion has centered around the feasibility of the team committing significant financial resources to two wide receivers, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Some skeptics question the wisdom of such heavy investment in a single position, especially considering that the 49ers handed Samuel a substantial three-year extension merely two years ago.
Adding complexity to this debate is the impending contract extension for quarterback Brock Purdy, positioning him to become the highest-paid player on the team. He will likely even become one of the NFL's highest-paid players. Where he ranks in average salary will depend upon whether he can replicate the stellar performance of his Pro Bowl 2023
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
