New York Jets to Face Bolstered 49ers After Star Receiver Agrees to Deal

The New York Jets will have to deal with one of San Francisco’s star receivers after he ended agreed to a new deal on Friday.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Mike Edwards (21) tackles San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during overtime of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets will have to deal with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on Monday Night Football after all.

On Thursday the veteran wide receiver reportedly agreed to a new contract with the 49ers, a four-year, $120 million deal as reported by ESPN. The contract reportedly has $76 million in guarantees.

Thus ends a holdout that wasn’t necessarily a holdout. But Aiyuk was one of two players was not participating in training camp or in preseason games due to contract demands with the other being left tackle Trent Williams.

Aiyuk hadn’t been fined by the team, even though he hadn’t practiced. The 49ers went so far as to try and trade him, and they nearly had a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But Aiyuk and his agent were not agreed to any financial framework to get a deal done.  

San Francisco general manager John Lynch was a bit frustrated when he talked to reporters on Thursday, but he said he expected Aiyuk to practice on Wednesday.

Turns out he will now that he has a new deal.

He has been a high-level performer for San Francisco the past two seasons. Last year he caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named Second-Team All-Pro.

In 2022, the first-round pick from the 2020 draft caught 78 passes for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns.

It’s clear why the 49ers were hoping to get deals done with both players, and why the Jets may have been secretly hoping that deals wouldn’t get done.

ESPN Stats and Info put together the 49ers’ offensive numbers when the pair are on the field and when they’re not. While the sample size when both aren’t on the field is a small one — just 303 plays — there is a clear difference in production.

While the Jets are dealing with the Reddick situation, the 49ers have not one, but two contract disputes. And they’re a different team with/without Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk. Via @ESPNStatsInfo #Jets pic.twitter.com/2OzK5XBGcp

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 29, 2024

The yards per play drops by two years and the Total QBR rating drops by 30 points. Both are statistically significant.

Now San Francisco’s attention turns to Williams.

One of the game’s top tackles, has not participated in training camp or preseason as he wants the 49ers to re-do his deal. ESPN reported that Williams “isn’t going to be available” until his contact is adjusted.  

Without Williams on the field, that could make life a bit easier for the Jets’ pass rush and their ability to get to quarterback Brock Purdy, whether edge rusher Haason Reddick ends his own holdout or not.