The San Francisco 49ers are just over two weeks away from kicking their season off against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. Their first matchup comes against the New York Jets. If everything goes according to plan, Kyle Shanahan will have Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams in the starting lineup.
Yet, neither player has been practicing, with both angling for a contract extension and/or raise in salary. For Aiyuk, the situation is far more pressing since he’s entering the final year of his contract. Yet, without a contract adjustment, it’s possible we’ve seen the last of Williams in a 49ers uniform too. In other words, both situations require urgent attention.
Will we see a resolution between the 49ers and their two disgruntled All-Pros before the season kicks off?
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San Francisco 49ers expected to sign new Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams contracts by Labor Day
The San Francisco 49ers have some big decisions to make. In addition to reaching contract resolutions with Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, they, like all other NFL franchises, must reduce their roster from 90 down to 53 players by August 27.
Of course, 49ers GM John Lynch won’t make any of these decisions until after San Francisco plays its preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night. Then, they’ll have two weeks to make final roster adjustments, and hopefully sign Aiyuk and Williams to new contracts.
In fact, that’s exactly what one NFL insider, namely Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer predicts to happen by Labor Day, which takes place on September 2.
“I’d say Labor Day weekend is a fair target. I do think both of them get taken care of.”
Albert Breer on when San Francisco 49ers will resolve Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams contracts
It makes sense. Once the 49ers get the bulk of their roster set, they can turn their focus back to giving their stars fair contract value. Their week off could present the perfect time to get any more necessary contract negotiations hashed out. We’ll see if that’s what San Francisco is waiting for soon enough.
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