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Will 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Skip Training Camp?

Stay tuned.

Grant Cohn

Jul 27, 2023; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) walks on the field during training camp at the SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2023; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) walks on the field during training camp at the SAP Performance Facility. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers will report to training camp on July 23. Will Brandon Aiyuk be there?

If the 49ers extend his contract before then, obviously he'll show up. But it's unclear if Aiyuk will get a contract extension. He might have to play out the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. And if that's the case, he might skip training camp. Because that's exactly what CeeDee Lamb intends to do.

Like Aiyuk, Lamb is looking for a contract extension that pays him more than $30 million per season, and so far the Dallas Cowboys have been unwilling to give him what he wants. And so Lamb reportedly will not show up to training camp. The Cowboys can fine him every day for not being there, but ultimately they need Lamb to be a good team, so he has leverage. And the longer he holds out, the more likely that he gets paid. See Nick Bosa last year.

Will Aiyuk follow the same game plan?

I wouldn't be surprised if he skips training camp. He has tremendous pride -- he thinks he's every bit as good as Lamb. So if Lamb holds out, so will Aiyuk. He doesn't want to be seen returning to the 49ers with no extension and his tail between his legs. He wants to win this battle.

I'm guessing the 49ers will cave and give Aiyuk what he wants before the first padded practice of training camp. But if they don't, I expect Aiyuk to skip camp just like Bosa did last year. And then Aiyuk eventually will get his extension before Week 1 or after a couple losses.

Stay tuned.

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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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