49ers’ Kyle Shanahan reveals Brandon Aiyuk’s peculiar plight came via July flashpoint

SANTA CLARA Coach Kyle Shanahan got peppered Saturday with questions about injured wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk s darkening future with the ers two days before they host a prime-time contest with playoff implications against Carolina Shanahan certified the ers voided Aiyuk s guaranteed money of million-plus and while not revealing what precisely led to that contractual rebuke it occurred three months ago at the onset of training camp With the contract stuff that happened back in July Shanahan declared after Saturday s practice I knew it d be a while for him to come back from an October knee injury I was hoping to get him back around this time I ve been coaching the company and I don t deal much with injured players Shanahan added I was communicated a sparse weeks ago he was getting closer We haven t progressed in that way so far From my standpoint I m just waiting for him to get back to practice Thus Aiyuk is still classified as week to week for a feasible return from Injured Reserve He hasn t been seen by the media on the practice field in any maximum since Sept and Shanahan revealed he s not getting much dialogue just personally between him and I Regardless there s chatter now that Aiyuk won t be back for Shanahan however claimed he would love to retain Aiyuk as a healthy contributor What happened in July to me in my opinion doesn t have anything to do with the future Shanahan noted It had to do with circumstances that to me were out of a coach s hand the best way I can explain it when it comes to business matters and lawyers and contracts and things like that The ninth-year coach and several teammates expressed affection for Aiyuk s welfare both physically and mentally amid his comeback attempt from a devastating knee injury on Oct I think he s doing fine It s hard because he s a quiet guy and to himself reported wide receiver Ricky Pearsall who s known Aiyuk since their Arizona State days But as much as I can I reach out and show love his way because he s done that throughout my journey Added fellow wide receiver Jauan Jennings B as far as I know has been getting great rehab and just being B I guess his contract is something between him and the organization I talk to him and tell him I hope he s healing up Pearsall and Jennings entered this season as the projected starting wide receivers and that will be the event Monday as the ers - prepare to host the Carolina Panthers - on Monday night p m ABC ESPN Left tackle Trent Williams the lone captain to speak in Saturday s open locker room session declared I love B like a brother and I m not going to comment on his situation Aiyuk continued to statement for morning rehabilitation as in recent times as Friday according to Shanahan who noted that the sixth-year receiver has stayed away from meetings for reason only known to Aiyuk Shanahan declared other injured players often skip meetings too and that is not what led to July s contract shift Once training camp began Aiyuk very visibly ran alongside wide receivers in warmups and he even caught a scarce routes in the preliminary warmups before the Aug preseason meeting in Las Vegas Also teammates and coaches had lauded him for his coach-like mentorship in meetings before the season I don t really know the logistics of what went on behind closed doors but seeing him out there on the field warming up and running around it made me happy because I know what he s been through with his knee Pearsall noted It was really good watching him run around and potentially be on the field at the same time It s a really rough injury It s his knee He s a receiver disclosed Pearsall who missed six games with his own knee injury before last Sunday s return That s not an easy thing to come back from physically mentally He looked good and I d perpetually tell him that It sucks the way it is right now because I d love to be teammates with him Indeed Aiyuk s comeback and his long-term future with the Niners appear squashed The voiding of his guarantees as first revealed by The Athletic came with no legislative rebuttal from Aiyuk who held out the training camp until agreeing to a four-year million extension San Francisco ers' Brandon Aiyuk watches teammates during practice at the ers training camp at the practice facility at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara Calif on Thursday July Doug Duran Bay Area News Group Added Shanahan I know everyone got a lot of information the day before today That was information I discovered out in July and kind of dealt with it then And to me the contract stuff is really irrelevant to my relationship with the participant and my relationship with our crew I went through that stuff and talked to him a lot about it back in July But since July it s been all about this season and hoping he would get healthy and he s been working to get healthy Back when the season approached Aiyuk agreed Aug to a long-standing contract offer and Shanahan promptly dashed upstairs to the personnel department to scuttle a prospective arrangement to the Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco ers' Brandon Aiyuk is injured after making a catch against Kansas City Chiefs' Trent McDuffie and Kansas City Chiefs' Chamarri Conner in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara Calif on Sunday Oct Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group Aiyuk a first-round pick got injured seven games into the season doomed by the impact of a Chiefs defensive back who tore multiple ligaments and the meniscus in Aiyuk s right knee He didn t count on any of his catches yards that year but he did break out with an eight-catch -yard outing against Arizona two weeks before his injury Whatever happened in late July it complicated matters or perhaps simplified a breakup I ve been coaching over years and I ve never been in a situation where a contract s been voided Shanahan declared So it was extremely exceptional to me Related Articles Kurtenbach The superior ers should handle the Panthers But does that sound like the Niners My predictions for Monday Night Football Panthers Bryce Young take a big swing against ers on Monday Night Football How to watch ers vs Panthers on Monday Night Football Brandon Aiyuk s ers future dims while Brock Purdy Ricky Pearsall march into Monday matchup Matt Gay once kicked the ers out of the Super Bowl Now he s replacing Eddy Pi eiro NOTABLE The ers ruled out linebacker Tatum Bethune ankle and kicker Eddy Pi eiro hamstring doubtful is defensive end Robert Beal Jr concussion and questionable is linebacker Luke Gifford neck shoulder Panthers linebackers Trevin Wallace shoulder and Christian Rozeboom hip hamstring are out as is starting center Cade Mays ankle