Brandon Aiyuk brought on a stir off the gridiron subject together with his current TikTok saying, “They don’t want me back.” That is his final 12 months with the San Francisco 49ers and he might be eligible for a franchise tag. However wait! He desires to be within the higher echelon of receivers and the 49ers’ locker room may need an issue with it.
On The Colin Cowherd Podcast, Cowherd laid out the 5 staples of the Niners: “Brain of Kyle Shanahan, the legs of Christian McCaffrey, the pass rush of Bosa, versatility of Deebo Samuel, protection of Trent Williams.” Aiyuk is nowhere on that listing and, per Cowherd, that’s due to his “value” and never the expertise he possesses.
One other visitor on the podcast, John Middlekauff additionally appears to agree with Cowherd’s evaluation however gave a unique spin on the argument. Per Middlekauff, Aiyuk’s extension would possibly trigger envy within the roster and gamers like Trent Williams and Fred Warner would possibly begin to query their worth to the Niners. The WR’s supposed extension would possibly entice unfavorable consideration and Shanahan won’t wish to cope with that.
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“Brandon Aiyuk is a really good player scheduled to make almost $15 million but they are offering 25-26. He’s like, ‘No, I’m 31.’ Well, you make 31 in that locker room, what, you’re double the value of Fred Warner?” expanded Middlekauff.
Fred Warner recorded a whopping 82 tackles within the final season, had 2.5 sacks, and performed each sport final season. He additionally had 4 interceptions and 11 passes defended. Professional Soccer Focus ranked him second highest amongst all of the linebackers, with a 90 total grade. The 49ers don’t have an issue with extending their best-performing gamers and one other instance of that’s Christian McCaffrey.
There’s little doubt that CMC put up jaw-dropping numbers within the final season. He led the league in speeding yards, touches, scrimmage yards, and scrimmage touchdowns. Additionally, he was the one non-QB within the MVP dialog and that speaks volumes. If solely he didn’t fumble the ball within the Tremendous Bowl towards the Chiefs, he may need gotten a deal north of 2-year $38 million extension.
“I might see a state of affairs the place they play this out, which they’re not going to wish to do as a result of the drama that comes with that. I might positively see a commerce and I might positively simply see as a result of generally a coach ‘just get it done, lets over quote-unquote pay, but then you have to worry about the locker room dynamics.”
So why are the 49ers not making Brandon Aiyuk one of the highest-paid WRs in the league? Well, it comes down to value and not his talent, as mentioned earlier.
Will the 49ers extend Brandon Aiyuk?
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We might hear about it sooner or later. But what’s confirmed is that the WR boycotted the obligatory coaching camp and took a $100k fantastic. However in addition to that, there are just a few issues together with his productiveness. Aiyuk by no means had greater than 80 receptions in a season, which implies he’s not extremely utilized. To match it together with his personal teammate Christian McCaffrey, carried the ball 272 occasions final season and Aiyuk had 75 receptions.
However even much less utilized within the workforce is Deebo Samuel, who’s saved his head down and has been attending the coaching periods. In his 5-year profession with the 49ers, Samuel had 283 receptions. In the meantime, Brandon Aiyuk has 269 receptions in his 4-year profession with the Niners. However that doesn’t give sufficient perception into the scenario.
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The Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had 119 receptions and 1,515 yards this final season. The Lions determined to reward him handsomely with a 4-year $120 million deal. Even CeeDee Lamb, who had 135 receptions and 1,749 yards and 12 TDs final season, didn’t receives a commission but. It’s clear that Aiyuk is nowhere close to one of the best receiver and the Niners would possibly wish to wait this season to allow them to give Aiyuk an opportunity to raise himself.
If Aiyuk will get franchise-tagged subsequent 12 months, his contract might quantity price as much as $26 million a 12 months, which continues to be respectable. This 12 months, Aiyuk is making $14.1 million, whereas Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, and Fred Warner will earn greater than him. Middlekauff and Cowherd identified earlier that the 49ers pay one of the best of one of the best handsomely and, for now, Brandon Aiyuk won’t befit the factors.