Aiyuk-49ers saga hits inflection point as ‘hold-in' persists

SANTA CLARA — The Brandon Aiyuk saga might have hit an inflection point on Wednesday.

Despite suggestions that this was the day that Aiyuk would end his “hold in,” nothing changed when the 49ers took the practice field.

And now, this is when things could really get interesting.

General manager John Lynch made it known that the expectation was that Aiyuk would practice because the 49ers medical staff cleared him.

Earlier in the day, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported that there was an “understanding” that Aiyuk would practice.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Aiyuk never told him he was going to practice, but he said he was hopeful Aiyuk would be on the field.

Now, it looks as if the 49ers are ready to play hardball.

Up to this point, everybody knew and understood that Aiyuk was not likely to practice until his contract situation got resolved. Shanahan even played along, saying that Aiyuk had “soreness.”

But the entire tone changed Wednesday, now that the 49ers have their 53-man roster set and are beginning preparations to face the New York Jets in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL regular season.

Before practice on Wednesday, both Lynch and Shanahan said they would not address the hypothetical situation of discipline if Aiyuk did not show up to practice later in the day.

Aiyuk did not show up, so it is no longer a hypothetical situation.

Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, did not immediately respond to an NBC Sports Bay Area request to comment on the reason for Aiyuk’s absence from practice.

Aiyuk had been seen during practices periodically this summer. He often watched from the sideline or went viral with his hand-slaps and daps of Lynch and Shanahan.

Before Aiyuk officially was a no-show at practice on Wednesday, Lynch suggested the relationship between team and player still could be salvaged.

“I’ve seen these things look dire before, and those things can quickly be forgotten,” Lynch said.

All it will take is a new contract that satisfies both sides. They appear to be pulling in opposite directions at this point.

Aiyuk remains under contract to the 49ers through the upcoming season on a deal that is set to pay him $14.124 million on the fifth-year option.

Coming off a strong 2023 season, Aiyuk clearly feels as if the time is now to cash in on a multi-year contract.

When negotiations toward a new contract stalled in the offseason, Aiyuk requested a trade. The 49ers granted permission to Aiyuk to speak with at least four teams — the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Washington Commanders — about negotiating a contract.

The 49ers appeared to be working on parallel tracks of talking trade with teams while also continuing to keep the door open on a multi-year extension with Aiyuk.

It is obvious the 49ers believe that Aiyuk has enough information to be able to make a decision on his next move.

“At some point you got to play,” Lynch said on Wednesday.

The way this is going, that might not be such an obvious statement.

Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast