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SANTA CLARA – Things are getting serious around the 49ers training facility.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is allowed to participate in training.
And that’s exactly what the 49ers expect from him, General Manager John Lynch said Wednesday.
However, Lynch said he could not be sure whether Aiyuk would train.
“You’ll see that from me,” Lynch said. “He was here today and that was the expectation.”
“He has been cleared and we are ready to go.”
Lynch’s comments came just minutes before the team was scheduled to take the practice field for the first time since the league-wide roster was reduced to 53 players.
The 49ers appear ready to send their Aiyuk to the practice field, and there could be consequences if he continues to miss practice.
“Then we will take care of it,” Lynch said.
Basically, the only thing that seems to have changed is the fact that the 49ers have announced that Aiyuk is healthy and they want him in practice.
The 49ers open the regular season on Monday, September 9, against the New York Jets.
Although Aiyuk showed up on time for training camp this summer, he did not practice once in five weeks.
Aiyuk was considered a “hold.” At one point in training camp, coach Kyle Shanahan said – not convincingly – that Aiyuk was not training because of neck and back pain.
“I know our doctors have declared him fit, so I hope he can practice there today,” Shanahan said.
Of course, Aiyuk was unable to practice due to an unresolved contract situation. He is scheduled to play this season and his contract is set to pay him $14.124 million.
Aiyuk requested a transfer a week before training camp began. The 49ers gave his representative permission to discuss contracts with Pittsburgh, Cleveland, New England and Washington.
Although the 49ers have negotiated a trade and/or Aiyuk has agreed to a new contract with another team, no trade has yet been made.
It seemed like the 49ers’ top priority from the start was to keep Aiyuk through a multi-year contract extension.
Although Aiyuk traveled with the team to Las Vegas for the team’s final preseason game on Friday, this was obviously not a sign that a contract agreement was imminent.
“At some point you have to play,” Lynch said.
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