INSANITY, California On their way to the auditorium on Thursday night, coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers noticed a text on their phones.
The sender was wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has been the focus of a lot of trade rumours in the wake of the Niners’ most recent attempts to finalise a lucrative contract extension with him. Not much could be done to quell the Aiyuk rumours after Lynch and Shanahan had just selected Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall with the No. 31 pick in Thursday’s NFL draft.
However, Aiyuk didn’t convey a message of rage. It was much easier.
Aiyuk’s message stated, “Fire pick, I can’t lie,” according to Lynch.
All of that occurred in the context of the seemingly never-ending rumours regarding Aiyuk’s future. As Aiyuk approaches the final year of his rookie contract, San Francisco has insisted that it wants to re-sign him. However, speculation about whether the Niners would give in and trade him intensified on Thursday.
Lynch and Shanahan said that on Thursday, they had talked with other teams. However, Shanahan stated that a trade involving Aiyuk or fellow wideout Deebo Samuel never seemed likely, while Lynch claimed that no deals were even close to happening.
Lynch and Shanahan again didn’t sound like a deal for either player was imminent when asked late Thursday night if such a trade could still happen heading into Friday, though they didn’t close the deal.
