It took all of training camp, but the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk finally came to an agreement on a long-term contract extension.
While the trade rumors swirled and the possible outcome seemed to change daily, concerns about whether Aiyuk would be able to hit the ground running started to go by the wayside.
Those concerns are now resurfacing with Aiyuk back in San Francisco and participating in practice. He’s had two practices as of Thursday with two more before Monday night’s opener against the New York Jets.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Thursday that he’s unsure how much Aiyuk will play in the season opener. He also said Aiyuk worked with quarterback Brock Purdy over the weekend to make up for some lost time.
“We’ve had one practice with him,” Shanahan said. “He threw with Brock over the weekend. We got one practice with Trent. Today will be their second. We’ll see how they are these three days and then kind of evaluate it.”
Purdy never seemed concerned about his chemistry with Aiyuk when asked about it during training camp. That duo connected 72 times for 1,317 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago as Aiyuk emerged as Purdy’s favorite target.
Chances are we see more of the same this year given how well Aiyuk works in the areas of the field Purdy likes to throw. Getting some weekend work in will help them hone their chemistry and get on the same page.
It’s unlikely to change much about Aiyuk’s playing time in the season opener though. His snap number will be determined by how he looks in practice and how quickly he can get into football shape with only four practices under his belt.
