The 49ers packed up the operation and went to Minnesota for a pair of joint practices with the Vikings, in advance of Saturday’s preseason game. Receiver Brandon Aiyuk apparently believes that the Niners should have just stayed home.
“It was good work, it was good work going against somebody different, different environment but I didn’t like it,” Aiyuk said on Thursday, via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I feel like it was a waste of time, personally. It was boring for sure.”
Aiyuk specifically lamented the lack of touches, and the basic nature of the offense the 49ers utilized against the Vikings.
“I feel like it was a little boring because it was a little of Day One stuff,” Aiyuk said. “The basic stuff. I was getting a little irritated having only touched the ball like three times in the past two days but that’s beside the point.”
Some teams like joint practices because they provide a break in the monotony of the team practicing against the same people all the time. However, when suiting up against another franchise during August, there’s a natural concern about showing too much.
And, ultimately, it’s an opportunity to see how the bottom-of-the-roster guys do in a more competitive environment. Aiyuk is making the team. Plenty of other guys remain on the bubble. Those who had a chance to show what they can do against an opponent in a different uniform surely got more out of the sessions, since those are the ones who are trying to parlay August into September.