The San Francisco 49ers have been on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl for the last few seasons and have aspirations to reach the big game again in 2024.
Last season, they had one of the best rosters in the NFL, particularly on offense.
With Brock Purdy still playing on his rookie contract, the 49ers were able to surround him with a bevy of playmakers making the offense almost impossible to stop. Christian McCaffrey — who is arguably the best running back in the league and a jack-of-all-trades who can make big plays in the passing game as well as a runner — was in the MVP conversation for most of 2023.
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George Kittle has cemented himself as one of the top tight ends in the league and the wide receiver duo of Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk created matchup nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators.
Ideally, the San Francisco 49ers should want to keep their offensive core in tact for at least one more season and get the most out of their current talent before Purdy gets a big contract and money runs thin to pay other key playmakers on the roster.
Last week, McCaffrey inked a contract extension worth $19 million over the next two years.
“Business is business,” McCaffrey said Tuesday. “It’s part of this game. Both sides were mutually very respectful the whole time. Just proud and happy that we got something like this done.”
Deebo Samuel is under contract through 2025 and Aiyuk is entering the final year of his contract and seeking an extension.
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Aiyuk led the team with 1,342 receiving yards and surpassing 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season. The San Francisco 49ers brass has constantly stated it is actively negotiating a contract extension to secure Aiyuk’s presence on the team for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve communicated on a couple of occasions, on many occasions, our wish,” said general manager John Lynch last month. “And our wish is that he’s here and a part of the Niners for the rest of his career. We’re working through that.”
But as each week passes and a deal hasn’t been signed, it seems more and more possible Aiyuk may not play for the 49ers in 2024. He’s been linked to trade rumors all offseason and is skipping offseason OTAs as he holds out for a new deal.
With the 49ers drafting two wideouts in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft, there are a lot of question marks surrounding Aiyuk’s future in San Francisco.
San Francisco 49ers Star WR Brandon Aiyuk Is ‘Pessimistic’ About Contract Extension
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It appears things between Aiyuk and the 49ers have taken a downward spiral as contract talks continue.
Aiyuk’s wide receiver coach and former NFL receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” on Thursday and shared the latest from the ongoing negotiations, revealing things have made an ugly turn.
“At one point, [Aiyuk] thought he was going to sign, so he was like, ‘I’m not going to come out [to work out] because I might have to go when I sign,” Houshmandzadeh said. “That optimistic outlook has turned into a pessimistic outlook.
“At one point he thought, ‘Damn, I might be leaving soon,’ and now it’s, ‘I have no idea.’ ”
Houshmandzadeh said there was “optimism in the air” and Aiyuk was feeling good about a deal getting done with the San Francisco 49ers about a month and a half ago.
But as 49ers OTAs and mandatory minicamp have come and gone, and Aiyuk still nowhere in sight in Santa Clara, Houshmandzadeh believes now it is a different story.
While things have taken longer than either side might have anticipated, Houshmandzadeh provided a simple solution: Give Aiyuk the same deal as Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Detroit Lions contract.
“If the 49ers want to get B.A. signed, give him the Amon-Ra deal,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I guarantee he’d be in there tomorrow. They don’t want to do that. … If they’d offered him Amon-Ra’s deal, he would be in camp.”
St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million contract with Detroit on April 24, coming off a breakout 2023 season where the Lions star earned a First-Team All-Pro selection after recording 111 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns
It’s clear the San Francisco 49ers star WR has become frustrated with the standoff which isn’t good for either side.
“It’s disheartening because as a player, you just want to get what you feel like you’ve earned,” Houshmandzadeh said. “It’s disheartening — and then it starts to make you angry. … If I mean so much to this team, what’s the holdup? Yeah, I don’t get a lot of targets, yeah we have a lot of mouths to feed. But I’m an important part of this offense.
“You just don’t want your best players unhappy when you have a history of taking care of your best players.”
For Houshmandzadeh and Aiyuk, they certainly hope history is on their side as both sides continue to make the right decision for all parties