It was a surprise to see disgruntled San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk report to training camp with the rest of his team on Tuesday.
Aiyuk held out from mandatory minicamp earlier this summer as he seeks a lucrative long-term deal. He then proceeded to request a trade from the team.
So, why would he report to camp in Santa Clara? It really didn’t make much sense.
We now have an answer. As the defending NFC champs took to the practice field for the first time in the summer session, Aiyuk was seen on the sidelines in street clothes. In short, he’s considered a “hold in” to avoid the $40,000 daily fines that would have come with the former first-round pick from Arizona State holding out.
Apparently, this did not sit well with 49ers general manager John Lynch. As you can see in the video below, Aiyuk was seen leaving the practice field with Lynch and heading to the 49ers main headquarters outside Levi’s Stadium.
We’re not 100% sure what transpired here. But it’s obvious that something seems to be off. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan will likely have to address the situation with media.
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Things getting strange between Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
Negotiations between the two sides this past offseason were not too private. Primarily, Aiyuk took to social media a lot to air his issues with San Francisco’s brass.
Lynch touched on Aiyuk’s situation with media on the opening day of camp on Monday. He did not completely shoot down the possibility of a trade.
“We fully intend on Brandon being a Niner moving forward, but always open to listen to things. We expect Brandon to be an integral part of our team like he has been and excited about that,” Lynch told reporters.
As for Aiyuk, he played an important role in the 49ers’ success.
- Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TD
San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy completed 71% of his passes with an insane 124.0 QB rating when targeting Aiyuk last season.
Aiyuk is said to be demanding north of $30 million annually on a new contract. Things remain at a standstill during this point in the summer.