Justin Jefferson rumors circulated before his mammoth extension, and CeeDee Lamb has been tied to a holdout threat. But Brandon Aiyuk has been the offseason headline champion at his position, with his 49ers talks coming up frequently.
Aiyuk requested (and received) a meeting with 49ers brass. After the fifth-year wide receiver lobbed a comment indicating the 49ers do not want him back, the team — as has long been reported — confirmed during the summit it does indeed envision a future with Aiyuk. The two-time 1,000-yard pass catcher conceded, as Tee Higgins did weeks ago, he does not expect to be traded this year.
The recent Aiyuk-49ers meeting may end up catalyzing an extension, but it has not generated movement yet. The parties are not progressing on a deal in the wake of the summit, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes (h/t 49ersWebZone.com). This refrain continues, as a lack of development in these talks led to Aiyuk skipping OTAs and then incurring a $102K fine for not attending minicamp.
Aiyuk’s camp has referenced Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s $30.01MM-per-year deal as an AAV comp, and a guarantee figure that approaches Jefferson’s position-record-shattering $88.7MM number came up regarding locked-in compensation. Aiyuk has not shown himself to be in the Vikings superstar’s class, and St. Brown — albeit on more targets — has submitted better numbers. Aiyuk’s 3,931 career receiving yards rank 17th since 2020, further complicating extension talks for a player who resides on a team with an elite skill-position corps dependent on spreading targets around.
Considering no non-Vikings team has authorized a WR contract that includes more than $53MM fully guaranteed, it would be surprising if the 49ers caved to Aiyuk’s push at guarantees in Jefferson territory. AAV-wise, the team may be seeking something closer to where the Eagles went for DeVonta Smith ($25MM per year) than a deal that hits St. Brown’s $30MM-per-annum number.
No trade request has come, separating Aiyuk’s situation from Deebo Samuel‘s 2022 offseason. But a training camp holdout could be the next step, if the 2020 first-rounder is up to it. Aiyuk must be fined $50K per each training camp day missed, though the 49ers would have the option of waiving the fines — as they did for Nick Bosa — due to the standout receiver being on a rookie contract. Aiyuk, 26, is due a $14.12MM fifth-year option salary.
San Francisco’s leading receiver (by a wide margin) last season, Aiyuk…