San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke to reporters on Wednesday, a day after the team reduced its roster to 53 players. Unsurprisingly, many questions centered around the contract standoff with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, a dominant storyline for the 49ers this offseason.
The 49ers are set to hold their first practice since the roster cut, and head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed hope that Aiyuk will participate.
"I know he's been cleared by our doctors, so I hope that he's out there practicing today," Shanahan told reporters.
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When asked if he expected to see Aiyuk on the practice field, Lynch responded, "We'll see. I think you'll see right with me. I know he's here today, and that's the expectation."
Given that Aiyuk has been medically cleared, Lynch was asked what would happen if the wideout chose not to practice. He replied, "Then we'll deal with that."
The situation with Aiyuk has become a significant distraction, at least from an outside perspective. However, Lynch and the 49ers have remained focused on training camp, the preseason, and improving as a team.
"But no question about it, when you've got some of your better players, two of them in particular (Aiyuk and tackle Trent Williams), that aren't out there, and that's your job, yeah, you take a lot of pride in that. I think, one thing, we've got a lot of really good players, and we've rewarded a lot of good players, and that makes things tougher at times.
"But I remain optimistic we'll find a way to put the best squad out there and really happy with where this team's at."
One way or another, the situation will reach a resolution. Lynch hopes that it results in Aiyuk rejoining his teammates on the practice field and playing in Week 1 against the New York Jets.
"I've seen these things look dire before, and they can quickly turn," Lynch commented. "So that gives you hope, that we've been in these situations before, and those things can quickly be forgotten. We'll remain hopeful. ... At some point, you've got to play."
As for the contract standoff with Williams, Lynch stated that there are no updates.
"I mean, there's good communication," Lynch said. "We're constantly working, throwing out ideas to try to have a breakthrough, and it just hasn't happened yet."
Lynch added, "Trent's a fantastic player. He's a tremendous leader on this team. I will never fall short on my praise of Trent and what he's meant to this place. It was a great day when I got that call from [former Commanders coach Ron] Rivera saying that they would do that trade, and he's been incredible since he's been here. So we value Trent, we love Trent, we want Trent here, and I'm hopeful that can happen soon."
