Is Brandon Aiyuk on the Verge of Signing an Extension with the 49ers?

I'm guessing the 49ers and Aiyuk will come to an agreement before the week is over and he most likely will be on the field when the 49ers practice on Friday.

Grant Cohn | Jul 31, 2024

Feb 7, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during a press conference before Super Bowl LVIII at Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

The Brandon Aiyuk drama might come to a close soon.

For months, he has requested one of two things -- a contract extension that pays him his market rate or a trade. And until now, the 49ers have been unwilling to give him either one. They've been holding him hostage. That's why Aiyuk formally requested a trade a couple weeks ago.

And yet, Aiyuk showed up to training camp anyway. Not to practice, but to show the team he's still invested. So on Wednesday, he watched all of practice from the sideline. And at one point, he hugged both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.

You could interpret the hugs a couple different ways. Perhaps the 49ers finally granted Aiyuk's trade request and he was saying goodbye to Lynch and Shanahan. That's certainly possible. Although no trade has been announced.

You also could interpret the hug as an indication that the 49ers and Aiyuk are extremely close to an agreement on a contract extension and it will get done in the next day or two. Otherwise, why hug? Just because life is grand?

I'm guessing the 49ers and Aiyuk will come to an agreement before the week is over and he most likely will be on the field when the 49ers practice on Friday. Thursday is an off day, which would be a perfect day to dedicate to Aiyuk's extension.

Of course, maybe the hugs meant absolutely nothing and Aiyuk will continue to wait for an extension or a trade that never will come. But I'm guessing a resolution is imminent. Stay tuned.

Published Jul 31, 2024

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.