SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As San Francisco 49ers common supervisor John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan made their approach to the auditorium Thursday evening, a textual content popped up on every of their telephones.
The sender was Brandon Aiyuk, the topic of loads of commerce hypothesis amid the Niners’ newest makes an attempt to consummate a big-money contract extension with the star vast receiver. Lynch and Shanahan had simply spent the No. 31 choose within the NFL draft Thursday on Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall, a range that did not do a lot to quiet the Aiyuk rumors.
However Aiyuk’s message wasn’t one in all anger. It was far less complicated.
“Hearth choose, I am unable to lie,” Aiyuk’s message mentioned, based on Lynch.
Aiyuk and Pearsall performed collectively at Arizona State in 2019 and stay pleasant. In reality, Pearsall spoke to Aiyuk on the telephone earlier than he spoke with Bay Space media Thursday evening.
That each one occurred towards the backdrop of the seemingly infinite hypothesis about Aiyuk’s future. Regardless of San Francisco’s insistence that it desires to re-sign Aiyuk, who’s coming into the fifth and closing yr of his rookie contract, that conjecture kicked into overdrive Thursday with many questioning if the Niners would give in and commerce him.
Lynch and Shanahan acknowledged that there had been discussions with different groups Thursday. However Lynch mentioned no offers got here near taking place, whereas Shanahan mentioned a commerce of Aiyuk or fellow wideout Deebo Samuel by no means appeared doubtless.
Requested late Thursday evening if such a commerce may nonetheless occur heading into Friday, Lynch and Shanahan once more did not sound like a deal for both participant was imminent, although they did not shut the door fully.
It was a well-recognized tone for the GM and coach, who usually joke that they’d commerce one another if the supply was proper.
“It does not appear that prone to be sincere,” Shanahan mentioned. “However I am nonetheless on the desk. If somebody supplied [owner] Jed [York] and John great things for me, I will be out of right here.”
Such a deal coming collectively now that the Thursday’s first spherical is over is basically why it is unlikely. Whereas the Niners are dealing with a wage cap crunch in 2025, they need not make any strikes to shed wage in 2024, that means a salary-dump sort of commerce out of the query for a workforce with Tremendous Bowl aspirations.
In fact, including Pearsall will solely serve to maintain Lynch’s telephone ringing into Friday’s second and third rounds as different groups attempt to pry one in all San Francisco’s star receivers unfastened at a discount value.
“I do know that we’re persevering with to have constructive talks with [Aiyuk] and we’re actually efforting to get one thing achieved with him,” Lynch mentioned. “We’re enthusiastic about persevering with down that path and Brandon being part of this workforce.
“Deebo is part of this workforce and a giant a part of this workforce. We really feel nice about that group and we really feel like we simply made it higher with one other actually good addition to it, who enhances the group actual nicely.”
No matter what occurs with Aiyuk and Samuel, the Niners have been at all times going to prioritize vast receiver on this yr’s draft with a watch towards the longer term. Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are coming into the ultimate yr of their rookie offers. Samuel has two years left on his deal at cap expenses of $28.6 million in 2024 and $24.2 million in 2025, although he has no extra assured wage starting in 2025.
The Niners subsequently seen Pearsall as a flexible participant able to any of the receiver positions instantly, with the concept he’ll step right into a beginning position sooner or later. He may additionally assist in the return recreation immediately after the Niners misplaced returner Ray-Ray McCloud III to the Atlanta Falcons in free company.
For these 49ers, each determination they make for the roster is about putting the stability between making one other push for the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy with their present group of stars and planning for the lengthy haul as these high-priced gamers start to maneuver on.
“We hearken to the whole lot,” Shanahan mentioned. “The whole lot’s about making an attempt to enhance our workforce as a lot as we will for 2024 with out jeopardizing ’25 as a lot as potential. In order that’s the whole lot you look into and at any time when that chance comes, whichever means you possibly can enhance your workforce, you try this.”
