A PAINFUL DEPARTURE: NINERS PLAYER HAS GONE....

Golden Nuggets: It would be a lovely day to have Aiyuk’s contract renewed.

“They have recently engaged in discussions, as far as I know. It’s not as though they haven’t talked at all; preliminary talks have taken place. John Lynch mentioned that Brandon Aiyuk could potentially play under the fifth-year option and complete his current contract. The team seems comfortable with that stance. However, Aiyuk has hinted at the possibility of walking away, as indicated by his use of the finger emoji gesture.

Essentially, there’s a bit of a standoff happening right now. However, it’s not as dire as the situation with Deebo Samuel, who at one point requested a trade. Despite that, the team was able to resolve the issues with Samuel. So, there’s no need to panic or overreact. Perhaps if it reaches a point where offseason workouts, like OTAs, begin, and Aiyuk continues to express reluctance to participate, then we might see some movement.

Despite the current impasse in negotiations, Garafolo emphasized that Aiyuk wants to stay with the 49ers and understands the team’s history of taking care of their key players.

“He genuinely loves the 49ers and recognizes that the organization tends to reward its core players when the time comes,” Garafolo explained. “He believes he’s among the top wide receivers in the league and expects to be compensated accordingly. However, the 49ers aren’t quite meeting his salary expectations at the moment. So, there’s still some time before a resolution is reached. Nevertheless, both sides appear interested in reaching an agreement eventually.”

Regarding the details of the offer sheet the 49ers extended to restricted free agent TE Brock Wright, Detroit now has five days to decide whether to match the offer. They initially tendered him at the right of first refusal level, which would have paid Wright $2,985,000 for the upcoming season.

For the Lions, the decision to match the offer will come down to value. Despite having over $26 million in cap space, they need to assess whether committing $4 million annually to a backup TE like Wright is worthwhile. While Sam LaPorta had a standout rookie season, it could still make sense for the Lions to retain Wright, given his consistent role on offense over the past three seasons.”