John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are speaking up at the NFL's annual owners meeting about the 49ers' offseason and 2024 plans.
Trading Brandon Aiyuk may be a hot topic for some, but not the 49ers.
General manager John Lynch, speaking at the NFL owners’ meeting in Orlando, Fla., disputed reports that the 49ers are discussing any potential trade of Aiyuk.
“We’re actively talking to Brandon and trying to figure something out,” Lynch told Bay Area media, in an interview posted by The Athletic. “We have a good history of working with the guys we want to get done, to get something done. It takes two sides. So can we do that? We’ll see.”
Aiyuk, after posting a second straight season of over 1,000 receiving yards, is slated to make $14.1 million this year under the fifth-year option that closes out his rookie contract. Lynch said the 49ers are OK with Aiyuk playing at that salary.
Aiyuk, however, is seeking greater financial security and a multi-year contract that aligns with other receivers atop the NFL’s pay grade, at about $25 million annually.
Not long after Lynch spoke, Aiyuk used emojis on an Instagram story that essentially translated to: “Money talks, B.S. walks.”
Lynch acknowledged that contract talks would be difficult but the 49ers have overcome similar plights in past years en route to extending homegrown players, such as George Kittle, Fred Warner, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa.
“Are the trials in those things? Sometimes there are,” Lynch said. “But ultimately that’s all forgotten when you get something done, and I hope that’s the case here.”
Rumors swirled last week that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be vying for Aiyuk, who addressed a social-media post to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin if he thought they looked like twins.
Lynch scuttled that potential trade, saying: “I was just with Mike Tomlin at the Michigan pro day and Mike coached me (at the Tampa Bay Bucs), so we’re very close. He’s like, ‘Bro, what’s going on?’ I promise you, we’ve got nothing, and nothing is going on there.”
Mike Tomlin on if he looks like Brandon Aiyuk:
"I've heard a lot of that recently."
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) March 25, 2024
“There is a number of different directions it could go,” Lynch added. “But we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and who he is as a player. We want him to be a part of the Niners, so we’re going to work towards making that a reality.”
CHAMPIONSHIP CHATTER
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, six weeks after beating the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, believes coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy make up a “deadly” combination that is destined for more success. That said, Reid’s Chiefs will try to become the first team to win the Super Bowl in three straight seasons.
“A lot of respect for Brock,” Reid told reporters, according to The Athletic. “He does a nice job. I don’t really care where he got picked; that doesn’t matter to me.
“He’s just a good player, he sees the field, he’s got good accuracy, great timing with his receivers, and he’s calm. You feel like he’s got everything kind of under control.”
Reid also praised Shanahan as “a smart guy and a heck of a football coach,” adding that their Super Bowl encounters in the 2019 and ’23 seasons “could have gone either way. It was just a toss-up. … So you just keep plugging, just keep doing what you’re doing, and somewhere you pop over the hill there. I know he’s got a great young quarterback, and him with a great young quarterback is deadly.”
Shanahan, in a Sunday interview with NFL Network, also endorsed Purdy’s potential and the potential benefits of this upcoming offseason work.
“Brock’s gone through a lot in two years in these games, so that’s been great for him. But the way you get better is doing it over and over in practice and just drilling it. It’s all about getting those 10,000 reps,” Shanahan told NFL Media’s Steve Wyche. “He spent it all last year knowing what he had to do, but he was just focusing (on getting) his arm healthy. Now he can go into this offseason knowing what he has to do but training his footwork, training his arm, training his mind. Just getting in the reps.”
Reid noted that the 49ers were “potentially” among the teams who tried to hire away defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for a similar role.
HEALTH UPDATES
Tight end George Kittle and cornerback Charvarius Ward underwent core-muscle surgery and should be fully healthy by training camp, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported. Both Kittle and Ward earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
“I’ve had that surgery myself when I was playing and it’s pretty a high success rate of healing and it feels a lot better once it’s done,” Lynch said. “It hurts constantly having that core tugging at you.”
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw is aiming to play in the season opener if all goes well in his recovery from an Achilles tear in the Super Bowl; Greenlaw could start training camp on the Physically Unable To Perform list and, if he remains on it in Week 1, he’d have to miss at least the first four games.
“De’Vondre (Campbell) gives us a guy who plays the way we play, a guy who has a ton of experience that can fill in for Dre if he’s not there,” Lynch said. “Then we have three guys who’ve played at a high level once Dre is back.”
ACCOUNTING PENALTY
Docked a 2025 fifth-round draft pick last week for an accounting error, Lynch said the 49ers mistakingly paid $75,000 extra to an unspecified player and unsuccessfully tried to recoup it rather than initially reporting their gaffe to the league prior to 2023, Maiocco reported.
ARMSTEAD EXIT
The 49ers granted defensive tackle Arik Armstead his release this month so he could test the market rather than get traded to the Houston Texans, subject to working out a new contract with them.
“Ultimately he wanted to see his value and good for him. It was robust with what he got in Jacksonville,” Lynch said. “He bet on himself and good for Arik. … Arik’s done so much for our team. He’s such a fabric of who we are, the work he does in the community. The opportunity to be on the 10-year wall was important to me and organization and Arik.”
