Brandon Aiyuk's contract situation: 49ers GM John Lynch feels “urgency” to get WR back to training

There are only 24 days left until the San Francisco 49ers' Week 1 showdown on Monday Night Football with Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.

But the 49ers' top wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, who led the defending NFC champions in catches (75) and receiving yards (1,342) and co-led the team in receiving touchdowns (seven), is still not practicing with the team because he is not under a long-term contract. The 26-year-old is currently in the final year of his rookie contract with his five-year, fully guaranteed option worth $14.1 million, set to enter the 2024 season.

As a result, he demanded a trade to gain an advantage in negotiations with General Manager John Lynch and the 49ers front office. This demand reportedly led to San Francisco set up a deal for his transfer to the Pittsburgh Steelers if the two sides cannot agree on a new agreement.

Lynch, unlike Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones regarding his top wide receiver CeeDee Lamb's The journalist and journalist, who made similar demands, admitted on Friday that he now felt an “urgent need” to clarify Aiyuk's situation.

“You know, I'm not going to characterize any odds or anything like that,” Lynch said Friday on KNBR when asked about the chances of him staying with the 49ers long-term. “I can tell you, it's been a long, arduous, hard process, a hard journey. We started so early and for some reason we weren't able to get it across the finish line. That was frustrating, but communication with Brandon and his agent has been really good nonetheless and we're trying to find solutions. You know, I'm always hopeful. I'm an optimistic person by nature and I'm always hopeful that we're going to get it done and soon. I can tell you, we feel the urgency to have him, the season is coming up and we have plenty of time.”

Aiyuk's 1,342 receiving yards were the seventh-most in the NFL in 2023, and he joins wide receiver GOAT Jerry Rice as the only players in 49ers history with at least seven games of 100 or more receiving yards in a season. Despite last season's performance, Lynch is eager to sign Aiyuk and get him back on the practice field.

“The good news is Brandon is working really, really hard. He's taking care of himself really well this offseason and he's in fantastic shape, but there are things you have to do on a football field and you have to buy into our team,” Lynch said. “So we're working hard and hopefully there's a resolution soon. That's all I can share with everybody. I understand everybody's fear, I understand there's been all kinds of stories and conversations, that's what people are doing these days. I don't like that part, but we love BA as a player. I think you see that every time he's out there playing for the Niners. He's a guy we traded up for in the first round of the 2020 draft. I remember doing that from my guest house during Covid. We're happy to have him on our roster and we'd really like to keep him. So we'll see how it goes.”

He caught 14 of the 20 passes thrown to him last season that were both outside the numbers and went over 15 air yards, the best rate (70%) of any player in the last four seasons to have at least 20 attempts in a season. Aiyuk averaged 3.1 yards per route run overall in 2023, the third-best rate in the NFL, with only Tyreek Hill and Nico Collins better, among those who ran at least 400 routes. A massive 81.3% of Aiyuk's 75 catches last year resulted in either a first down or a touchdown last season, the best such rate in the entire NFL. Losing that kind of deep threat and pass-receiving efficiency would be a major blow to San Francisco, so Lynch is desperately trying to resolve the issue in negotiations and working to avoid any upsets during the process.

“I wish I knew, I wish I knew,” Lynch said when asked why the process is dragging on. “Like I said, we started early, and it took a lot of our time, my time. I don't like that it took this long, but it took this long, and you have to deal with the challenges that you face. … No, there's no bad blood. I mean, negotiations can get heated. I think this is the first time he's gone through something like this, but there's no bad blood. I mean, the people that are here, seeing Brandon out here, there's a lot of love and respect for the relationship that we've had and continue to have and hopefully will have in the future.”

Despite the stress of negotiating, Lynch would rather be working toward a contract with a star player than not having to do so at all.

“One thing you know [other NFL general managers] always say, 'Man, we'd love to have your problems,' Lynch said. “They've got a lot of great players there. And I think that's a credit to our entire organization.”

Only time will tell if Lynch can solve his recent champagne problems with Aiyuk and All-Pro Left Tackle Trent Williams holds out He did the same with wide receiver Deebo Samuel and edge rusher Nick Bosa, both of whom eventually signed multi-year contract extensions to stay in the Bay Area.