49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s trade request became public on Tuesday afternoon, marking another checkpoint in the negotiation between the organization and the player.
San Francisco cornerback Deommodore Lenoir was just about to join the Rich Eisen Show for an interview when the news dropped, which prompted guest host Tom Pelissero to tell Lenoir about it.
Via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com, the defensive back’s first reaction was, “This can’t be true.”
Unfortunately for Lenoir, it is — though the request doesn’t mean that Aiyuk won’t eventually come to an agreement with the 49ers. Deebo Samuel went through something similar a couple of years ago and didn’t go elsewhere.
“He’s extremely important to our offense,” Lenoir told Pelissero. “The stuff he can do, the amount of targets he had, and the production, it’s kind of second to none. So with just hearing that news, it’s kind of crazy.”
Aiyuk is currently set to earn just over $14 million on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, which makes him well underpaid considering the current receiver market.
“At the end of the day, we feel like we go out there, we risk our bodies to play the game we love, and we kind of deserve what we ask for,” Lenoir commented. “But for Aiyuk, he’s a big part of this team, one of the reasons why we even made it this far, to the Super Bowl. Without his contribution to the team — he means a lot to us.
“So, I’m banging on it getting the job done. We was two for two with Deebo and Bosa, so I feel like there’s going to be some type of agreement that comes soon.”
Aiyuk was a second-team All-Pro last season after catching 75 passes for 1,342 yards with seven touchdowns.
