Lynch: Aiyuk saga 'arduous,' but Niners feel 'urgency' to keep him
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John Lynch says he's worn out from the Brandon Aiyuk saga just as much as any San Francisco 49ers fan is.
The team's general manager spoke to KNBR on Friday and said the team is feeling an "urgency" to keep the wide receiver, despite the "frustrating" process.
"I can tell you this, it's been a long, arduous, hard process, a hard journey," Lynch told the hosts. "We started this early and for whatever reason haven't been able to get it across the finish line. That's been frustrating, but the communication still has been really good both with Brandon and his agent, and we're trying to figure out solutions. You know I'm always hopeful. I'm an optimistic person in nature, and I'm always hopeful that we'll get there and get there soon. I can tell you, we feel the urgency to have him, the season's approaching, and we have ample time."
For several days now, the Niners have reportedly had a framework of a deal in place with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but are also attempting to re-up Aiyuk on a long-term extension.
A 26-year-old native of Rocklin, CA, Aiyuk is set to enter his fifth-year option season and earn $14.124 million.
Originally taken with the 25th overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Arizona State, Aiyuk had his best season as a pro in 2023.
In 16 games last season, Aiyuk hauled in 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. It was his second straight 1,000-yards-plus receiving season.
For his four-season career, Aiyuk has recorded 3,931 yards on 269 receptions and 25 TDs.
Aiyuk has 24 receptions for 393 yards and a TD in nine career postseason games.
There were hints of Aiyuk's unhappiness with the team back in February not long after the Niners' 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Asked if he hoped to remain in San Francisco, Aiyuk was cagey.
"If that's the right move, yeah," Aiyuk replied.
Following denials from Lynch that the team would move on from Aiyuk, the player appeared on the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson. He told the duo that he wanted to be paid fairly on an extension and, if that didn't happen, he would have no trouble leaving.
"If they don't see the worth in that [making a hand gesture of walking out the door], that's all it is," Aiyuk said. "It ain't nothing else besides that. I can't get into it. We got professionals working on both sides, so hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement and continue playing professional football."
As the draft approached, Aiyuk's name continued to swirl in trade rumours and fuel was added to the fire when the team took Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall selection.
In June, Aiyuk did not attend the team's mandatory mini-camp, but did arrive at the opening of regular training camp last month.
"We've had great communication," Lynch said last month of a potential extension for Aiyuk. "We started this really early. We made it a priority to try to get done. We've had excellent communication throughout. I really don't want to characterize. We haven't been able to and that's a shame."
On July 16, ESPN reported that Aiyuk had officially asked for a trade when it became clear that an extension wasn't coming.