While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he wouldn’t rule out a deal that keeps Brandon Aiyuk on the team but the ongoing trade talks involving the wide receiver mean that is far from guaranteed.
Shanahan addressed preparing to play amid that uncertainty during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. Shanahan said it would be “huge” to not have Aiyuk as part of the offense come September, but that the Niners have “some really young guys who are battling all the time” along with other experienced wideouts who need to be ready under any circumstances.
“I know when you deal with business parts, with the contracts and things like that, I hope that does get worked out,” Shanahan said. “But you also, when all that stuff’s good, there’s plenty of times people just break an ankle in Week One or in training camp. You have big plans for the season and you got to go the whole season with the part missing. Right now, it’s almost like we’re preparing that way because guys aren’t here. So, those guys do get those reps and they are trying to prepare for that moment. But that moment can just as easily come in Week 3 when someone gets an injury. So it’s always good for the practice and stuff. You always got to be ready for ‘next man up,’ and we’re preparing for that every moment.”
A report this week indicated that the Aiyuk’s ongoing hold-in at training camp is bothering Shanahan and the coach would surely like to know which of the team’s receivers will be available when they start playing games later this year, but, for now, the status quo remains in place.
