After
San Francisco 49ers
GM John Lynch informed the media on Wednesday that wide receiver
Brandon Aiyuk
, who’s been holding out of offseason activities as he seeks a new contract, was not at the Niners’ practice facility, per Ari Meirov.
Aiyuk recently passed a physical, meaning he is now eligible to get fined for missing practice.
The Aiyuk saga has been arguably the biggest story of the offseason for the defending NFC Champions, and after negotiations had appeared to be progressing this past week and trade rumors dying down, it appears we’re not done with the drama yet.
49ers Management Hinted There May Be Disciplinary Action
Aiyuk is now subject to fines for missing practice after passing a physical.
With the 49ers being just 12 days away from their opening game of the season, a Week 1 Monday Night Football matchup against the
New York Jets
, they were hopeful to get Aiyuk back in the fold after their top wide receiver missed the entirety of training camp and preseason amid trade rumors, which appeared to have faded away.
Prior to practice, GM John Lunch had been asked by the media what would happen if Aiyuk did not report to practice today.
Then we’ll deal with that.
Lynch didn’t say much, but it was enough to hint that some form of action would be taken.
As for head coach Kyle Shanahan, he had been hopeful his star WR would be out on the field today.
I hope that he’s out there practicing today. We’ll just have him go through individual things like that. Start having him run routes without quarterbacks. Probably won’t let him go against other guys.
Shanahan then echoed what his GM said when asked about Aiyuk potentially missing practice: “I’ll deal with that when it happens. If it happens.”
Shanahan added that Aiyuk being at practice would not necessarily mean that an extension was imminent.
Aiyuk is reportedly seeking over $30 million a year as well, coming off a season in which he averaged 17.9 yards per catch.
|
Brandon Aiyuk NFL WR Ranks, 2022-2023 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Aiyuk |
Rank |
|
Receptions |
153 |
23rd |
|
Receiving Yards |
2,357 |
11th |
|
Receiving TDs |
15 |
T-9th |
|
Yards/Reception |
15.4 |
4th |
|
Yards/Target |
10.8 |
1st |
|
Success Rate |
64.8 |
1st |
|
Catch % |
69.9 |
8th |
On top of waiting for their star receiver to report for practice, the 49ers have also been without left tackle Trent Williams, and Shanahan went as far as to say that the 49ers are preparing to open the season without both of their star holdouts.
I’m optimistic that things will work out with Trent. I’m not sitting here knowing what day it will be. I mean, we’re getting close to playing a game. So, like, my mind is completely on preparing for a game without those guys. But I feel when two sides want to get a deal done, usually it happens.
It’s not a promising sign for a 49ers team that’s hoping to return to the Super Bowl after an overtime loss to the
Kansas City Chiefs
earlier this year.
Source: Ari Meirov
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference, unless stated otherwise.
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