49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Says Brandon Aiyuk is "100 Percent"

Through two games, he has just six catches for 71 yards and no touchdowns.

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) signals the referee against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The 49ers pay Brandon Aiyuk $30 million per season on average. He's the highest-paid receiver on the team.

Through two games, he has just six catches for 71 yards and no touchdowns. He's the 49ers' fourth-leading receiver behind Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Jauan Jennings. Aiyuk looks noticeably slower after sitting out all of training camp because of a contract dispute.

On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Aiyuk's disappointing production early in the season. Here's what Shanahan said courtesy of the 49ers p.r. department.

Q: Yesterday, WR Brandon Aiyuk indicated to us that he felt that he was at about 85-percent. When watching the film, would you agree with that assessment and is he about where you thought he'd be at this point, having missed camp and all?

SHANAHAN: “No, I think B.A. looks 100-percent. I think what he meant is he is playing about 85-percent of what he usually plays. But just in terms of him running stuff and health, he’s 100-percent, he just, I think he's getting like 85-percent of playing time.”

Q: In regards to getting Brandon Aiyuk more involved in the passing game, were there just not opportunities for him or have you just kind of tried to ease him in more slowly?

SHANAHAN: “No, there was actually, there were a number of times he had a real good chance to get the ball and a couple times protections broke down on two of them. One time someone busted a route and just got in the same way, so they covered it up. But he had a chance to get about four big passes and other factors happened. It's a team game. There are 11 guys out there that are involved in getting someone the ball. He did have some opportunities where he should have, but not everything went right.”

MY TAKE: Sounds like Shanahan is implying that bad luck and Brock Purdy are primarily to blame for Aiyuk not getting the ball. Let's see if Purdy targets Aiyuk more frequently this upcoming week now that Deebo Samuel is out with a calf strain.