2 weeks Ago
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — You’re going to see and hear a lot of dizzying numbers regarding Brandon Aiyuk ’s new deal in the coming days — how much fully guaranteed millions it doles out, how those millions compare to the contracts of the league’s other top receivers, how it all impacts the salary cap. It’s all important.
Advertisement But the key number all along has been 26 — Aiyuk’s age. It’s the same age as Nick Bosa and one year younger than Fred Warner and Jauan Jennings . It’s two years older than Brock Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir , a pair of players the San Francisco 49ers would love to lock up for the future.
See where I’m going with this? Yes, Aiyuk is vital right now . He’s a massive part of this season’s Super Bowl push. It’s why you could practically see steam coming from general manager John Lynch’s ears Wednesday when he said he expected Aiyuk to take part in practice and hinted that the 49ers would start fining him.
It was clear he and Kyle Shanahan had reached the bewitching hour, the point at which not having Aiyuk on the field would affect the start of the season. GO DEEPER Kawakami: Weirdest negotiation ever got the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk a fair deal Just as critical, however, is that the 49ers also see him — and the others mentioned above — as their bridge to future seasons. Shanahan scrutinizes two positions more than any other, and it’s no coincidence those spots have frustrated him more than any other since he arrived in San Francisco.
The first is quarterback. You know the history. Back in 2017, Shanahan pined for Kirk Cousins but never could land him.
C.J. Beathard couldn’t process quickly enough to win over his head coach, Jimmy Garoppolo was too unreliable, Trey Lance was too much of a project.
Shanahan had a wandering eye — he was always looking for someone else. What he sought was a version of himself — someone who thinks clearly, who makes nano-second decisions, who’s aggressive. Shanahan believes he now has that person — a second Shanahan, if you will — in Purdy, who no doubt will be next year’s exhausting offseason negotiation project.
The other position that’s vexed him is receiver, which happens to have been Shanahan’s college position . If you ask the 49ers receivers, they’ll say he’s harder on them than he is the quarterbacks. Dante Pettis would agree.
Shanahan traded up to get him in the second round in 2018 and a year later he was squarely in the head coach’s doghouse. Pettis lasted only 2 1/2 seasons before Shanahan was finished with him. Danny Gray , drafted in the third round in 2022 and cut on Tuesday, had an even shorter stay.
Advertisement Aiyuk also got the hard-to-please treatment. After finishing with a seemingly impressive 748 yards as a rookie in 2020, he learned early on the following year that he actually hadn’t been up to snuff in Shanahan’s eyes, and he had to work his way back into the starting lineup that season. And Aiyuk put in the work.
GO DEEPER 49ers camp report: How Brandon Aiyuk went from doghouse to top dog By 2022, he was the team’s best-conditioned wideout, someone capable of playing every offensive snap at full tilt. He drove into his cuts to Shanahan’s satisfaction. He blocked downfield, he perfected his timing.
He had the guts to go over the middle and the speed to go deep. And last season, he got even better at all of those things. Which is why it seemed so absurd that the 49ers would even entertain the idea of trading Aiyuk.
Purdy and Aiyuk seemed perfect for the famously fussy Shanahan. Just as important, they seemed perfect for each other. Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations & everything you need to know to win your fantasy football league.
Pick up The Athletic 2024 Fantasy Football Guide to read expert evaluations. The last time the 49ers were this talented and this laden with Super Bowl expectations was 2013. It was all or nothing that season, literally so.
When they couldn’t beat the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, the veteran core quickly began to break apart. And when it did, there was no next generation to replace it. When Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, et al.
were gone, the 49ers crashed to the bottom. GO DEEPER Barrows: Talent-rich 49ers can accomplish what the 2013 team could not The current 49ers have the same high-end talent and the same weighty expectations. The difference is that the team has a collection of players in their mid-20s and — finally — a quarterback-receiver combination the exacting head coach likes.
The team’s Super Bowl window might dip in coming years as free agency and attrition take their toll. It doesn’t need to slam shut. (Top photo of Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images).
