John Lynch's Brandon Aiyuk updates reflect San Francisco 49ers' calm over contract situation
John Lynch has previously made it clear the San Francisco 49ers have no desire to part with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. At the NFL owners' meetings on Monday the 49ers general manager was forthright in reiterating that stance, dismissing any suggestion the franchise has had talks about trading their All-Pro wideout. Reports have previously suggested […]
John Lynch has previously made it clear the San Francisco 49ers have no desire to part with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
At the NFL owners' meetings on Monday the 49ers general manager was forthright in reiterating that stance, dismissing any suggestion the franchise has had talks about trading their All-Pro wideout.
Reports have previously suggested the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers have expressed an interest in Aiyuk, who led the 49ers in receiving for the second successive season in 2023, earning second-team All Pro honors.
In the case of the Jaguars, it was reported the 49ers had indicated they wanted the 17th overall pick and Zay Jones in exchange for Aiyuk. With the Steelers, Aiyuk himself stoked the flames of speculation by sending a playful message to Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin on X (formerly Twitter).
Lynch saw the funny side of that post, as did Tomlin, with the pair joking about a deal that he insisted the 49ers have no interest in making.
"I was just with Mike Tomlin at the Michigan and Mike coached me so we're very close. He was like 'bro what's going on?'. I promise you I've got nothing. There's nothing there," said Lynch.
"Nothing's going on there, we're actively talking with Brandon, trying to figure something out. We have a good history of working with the guys we want to get done to get something done. It takes two sides, so can we do that? We'll see.
"There's a number of different directions that it could go but we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and who he is as a player. We want him to be a part of the Niners so we're going to work towards making that a reality."
Lynch added the 49ers are prepared to let Aiyuk play on his fifth-year option, if it comes to that.
Taking that course of action would complicate matters in that it would risk Aiyuk hitting the open market next offseason, putting the 49ers in a position where they would likely have to use the franchise tag on the 2020 first-round pick.
But their willingness to put themselves in that situation, and Lynch's jokes with Tomlin last week, are reflective of the calm the 49ers have about the contract issue with Aiyuk.
With Aiyuk under contract and the 49ers having the option of the tag next year, the 49ers know they hold the cards. They have no reason to move Aiyuk and can have confidence because of their history of reaching a positive resolution with a host of stars in similar situations. Prolonged contract talks with George Kittle, Fred Warner, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa have all resulted in the Niners coming to terms on long-term extensions.
That is the most likely outcome with Aiyuk. For now, signing him long term is purely an ambition for the 49ers, but history says Lynch will succeed in his goal to make it a reality.
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