Things appear to have taken a downward spiral between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers as contract talks continue.
Aiyuk’s wide receivers coach and former NFL receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh has joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Debs” On Thursday, we shared an update on the ongoing negotiations, revealing that things have taken an ugly turn.
“At one point, [Aiyuk] He thought he was going to sign, so he said, “I’m not going out.” [to work out] “Because I may have to leave when I sign,” Houshmandzadeh said. “That optimistic outlook has turned into a pessimistic outlook.
“At some point, he said to himself, ‘Damn, maybe I’ll leave soon,’ and now he says, ‘I have no idea.’”
Houshmandzadeh said there was “optimism in the air” and that Ayuk was satisfied with completing the deal about a month and a half ago.
But as 49ers OTAs and mandatory minicamps have come and gone, and Aiyuk remains nowhere to be seen in Santa Clara, Houshmandzadeh now believes it’s a different story.
While things took longer than either side expected, Houshmandzadeh offered a simple solution: give Aiyuk the same deal as Amon-Ra St. John’s. Brown’s Detroit Lions.
“If the 49ers want to sign BA, give them the Amun-Ra deal,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I guarantee he’ll be there tomorrow. They don’t want to do that. …If they offered him the Amun-Ra deal, he’d be in the camp.”
St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million contract with Detroit on April 24, following a 2023 season in which the Lions star earned a First-Team All-Pro selection after recording 111 receptions for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Aiyuk recorded fewer receptions, yards and touchdowns than St. Brown last season, but he also had significantly fewer targets given the amount of star power among San Francisco’s offense.
Although Aiyuk had 59 fewer targets and 44 fewer receptions than St. Louis. Brown in 2023, but he had just 173 fewer yards. The 26-year-old’s 17.9 yards per reception ranked second in the NFL last season, while Aiyuk earned a spot on the Second-Team All-Pro team.
“It’s frustrating because as a player you only want to get what you feel you’ve earned,” Houshmandzadeh said. “It’s frustrating – and then it starts to piss you off… If I mean so much to this team, what’s the deal? Yes, I don’t get a lot of goals, yes we have a lot of mouths to say feed but I’m an important part of this offense.
“You don’t want your best players to be miserable when you have a history of taking care of your best players.”
For Houshmanzadeh and Ayuk, they certainly hope that history is on their side as both sides continue to make the right decision for all parties.
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