There's been a major movement on the wide receiver market, and it's one that should increase the San Francisco 49ers' urgency to get a deal done with All-Pro Brandon Aiyuk.

On Monday, the Eagles announced they had picked up Smith's fifth-year option after drafting him 10th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and also signed him to a three-year, $75 million extension on top of that.

That extension carries an average annual value of $25 million, right in line with his teammate A.J. Brown, who has the fourth-highest average annual value among all wide receivers.

What does that mean for the 49ers with the Aiyuk saga? Quite simply, time is of the essence.

With CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase also among the group of receivers likely set to sign long-term extensions, the wideout market is set to take off.

The Eagles have been smart by getting out ahead of that, and $25 million a year for a receiver whose production is akin to that of Aiyuk is likely soon going to look very reasonable.

In three seasons in the NFL, Smith has racked up 3,178 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. Aiyuk has played one more season and has 3,931 yards receiving and 27  total touchdowns.

ESPN's Tim McManus summed up the Eagles' approach to the Smith negotiations in a recent article prior to him signing his extension.

"Philadelphia has a well-established history of signing foundational players as early as possible, in part because they know the price tag will only go up," McManus wrote. "With a number of top-end receivers eligible for new deals, including Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase, there's likely extra incentive to get something done with Smith before the market resets."

The 49ers, by contrast, have typically played the long game when negotiating with their homegrown talent, signing their best players to extensions around training camp and, in the case of Nick Bosa, a few days before the season.

San Francisco is highly unlikely to sign Aiyuk to an extension before the draft. However, if the 49ers stick to their usual timeline, they potentially face the prospect of paying a substantially higher price for Aiyuk if the likes of Chase, Lamb and Jefferson sign their deals in the meantime.

Right now, the 49ers have all the leverage. Despite speculation about a potential trade of Aiyuk, the Niners have no motivation to deal him and general manager John Lynch has already said the team is comfortable with the 2023 second-team All-Pro playing on his fifth-year option. With the option of the franchise tag in their back pocket for next year, the Niners hold all the cards.

But, in terms of negotiation over his contract, Aiyuk will gain more leverage to demand more money the longer it goes on and the more of his counterparts sign lucrative extensions.

The Niners' timeline with these negotiations is extremely well established but, with their talks with Aiyuk taking place in an offseason in which the market looks primed to explode, it may behoove them to divert from their usual course of action.

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Time to put the pain behind them.