Why Kyle Shanahan feels perfectly prepared for potential 49ers trade of All-Pro receiver Brandon Aiyuk
It's become increasingly likely that the San Francisco 49ers will be without Brandon Aiyuk for the 2024 season and beyond. All signs point to San Francisco nearing a trade of their All-Pro wide receiver. The 49ers agreed trade frameworks with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots and, though the Patriots are now said to […]
It's become increasingly likely that the San Francisco 49ers will be without Brandon Aiyuk for the 2024 season and beyond.
All signs point to San Francisco nearing a trade of their All-Pro wide receiver. The 49ers agreed trade frameworks with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots and, though the Patriots are now said to be out of the running, the Browns are still in the mix and the Niners are reported to be continuing discussions with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaking on Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan conceded it would be difficult for the 49ers to be better without Aiyuk, who has led them in receiving yards for each of the last two seasons, on the roster.
But Shanahan has seen a lot of adversity during his tenure as 49ers head coach, and he referenced two catastrophic injuries to former running back Jerick McKinnon and former quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in 2018 when asked if he would be comfortable with first-round pick Ricky Pearsall potentially replacing Aiyuk for the season opener.
“I’d feel comfortable with whoever it is," Shanahan replied.
"It’s an issue as a coach, there’s times that I think Aiyuk missed a game last year and we had to do that. So it’s something you’re always prepared for.
"Aiyuk could also be with us and everything could be great and he could get hurt like it’s happened plenty of times.
"We lost a running back on a walk-thru the practice before our first game a few years ago with Jet McKinnon and didn’t have him for the whole year. We had a quarterback who tore his ACL in Week Three one year. So that’s stuff that you’re always used to and ready for.”
The difference is, of course, that the 49ers could do nothing to avoid the injuries to McKinnon and Garoppolo. San Francisco has had ample opportunity to hold on to Aiyuk by improving on an offer of a long-term contract extension worth $26 million annually and elected not to do so.
There are few coaches as good at coaching around weaknesses as Shanahan but, by dealing Aiyuk, the 49ers would be intentionally weakening themselves and giving their head coach a completely avoidable issue.
Depending on the potential return in a trade, entering the 2024 season without Aiyuk would give Shanahan a substantial challenge to overcome. He is more than capable of doing so, but the reality is that, if Shanahan is indeed forced to do so, he will be tasked with clearing hurdles constructed entirely by the 49ers and their stubborness in the Aiyuk negotiations.
Kyle Shanahan and Nick Bosa’s admissions about Brandon Aiyuk make it even harder to understand 49ers’ position
It’s a thoroughly bizarre approach.
