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How 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Misplayed his Hand

The 49ers had to choose between keeping Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel long-term.

Grant Cohn

Sep 10, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receivers Deebo Samuel (19) and Brandon Aiyuk (11) take the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receivers Deebo Samuel (19) and Brandon Aiyuk (11) take the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Brandon Aiyuk is talking his way off the 49ers.

A few months ago, he thought they'd give him a contract extension that made him one of the highest-paid players in the league. Now, it seems like they would rather trade him to Cleveland or New England than extend his deal. And he only has himself to blame.

The 49ers had to choose between keeping Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel long-term. The Niners can't afford both and Brock Purdy. And at the beginning of the offseason, it seemed like the front office wanted to keep Aiyuk because he's younger and more durable than Samuel.

But Aiyuk also is less mature than Samuel, as we learned this offseason. Aiyuk repeatedly went public with his grievances, made the 49ers front office look bad and put himself above his teammates. Meanwhile, Samuel said nothing, showed up to OTAs in the best shape of his life and didn't miss a practice this offseason until yesterday when the coaching staff finally gave him a well-deserved day off.

So Samuel is all in with the 49ers. As opposed to Aiyuk, who said he wants to play for the 49ers, the Commanders or the Steelers.

After all that's happened the past four months, I believe Aiyuk has made the 49ers' decision easy -- keep Samuel. Trade Aiyuk.

If Aiyuk is more concerned about money and individual statistics, send him to Cleveland where he can get all the money and targets he wants. And let him see how losing feels.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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