49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk explains why he was ‘scared to watch’ film of opener
SANTA CLARA – Brandon Aiyuk waited until the proverbial 11th hour to sign a contract extension, so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising he delayed watching game film of Monday night’s season debut.
“I didn’t watch the film until this morning. I was really scared to watch it,” Aiyuk said before Wednesday’s practice. “But it was not as bad as I thought.”
Aiyuk acknowledged that “part of” his film-review hesitation stemmed from his drop in the end zone of a potential 13-yard touchdown “dime” from Purdy just before halftime.
Aiyuk caught 2-of-5 targets for 28 yards in the 32-19 win over the New York Jets. Both his catches went for 14-yard, third-down conversions, and his first target was broken up by All-Pro Sauce Gardner. So his part-time role indeed “was not as bad” as he feared.
Then again, his dropping of a potential touchdown pass drew the ire of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning on his ESPN broadcast.
“Get signed, get in training camp — there’s a reason for training camp, you need it — we need the reps,” Manning shouted. “Get those contracts done earlier so we can get in training camp. We don’t drop balls on opening night.”
How Aiyuk made it to Week 1 was indeed dramatic. Contentious negotiations had him on the verge of getting traded to several destinations, and he was on his way to the Pittsburgh Steelers until he showed up at Shanahan’s office just 12 days before opening night.
Shanahan, in confirming Sunday’s report by Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, said he raced upstairs to general manager John Lynch’s office on Thursday, Aug. 29 to block Aiyuk’s potential trade to the Steelers.
“I had to sprint because I had a team meeting at 8:30 (a.m.), and I was getting ready for my team meeting and Brandon just randomly walked in and talked to me at 8:15,” Shanahan said. “That’s very Brandon like to pick that time to get ready for something else.
“Ten minutes into talking to him, I knew we needed to talk to him more when the meeting was over. Meetings can go awhile and I knew we were in discussions a lot with this. I actually called up to John and he didn’t answer or pick up on the first ring. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t on the other line making any trades. So I ran up there and just said, ‘Hold on, let’s talk after this meeting.’ ”
Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million extension was hammered out by sunset Thursday and he signed the following day. “There was no trade done,” Shanahan insisted. “You just never know when stuff is going to happen, when you’re going through negotiations and trades. That’s why it’s hard to keep up with all the reports because stuff is going on.”
Aiyuk certainly kept up with the booming market for NFL wide receivers leading into this offseason. The highest-paid extension ($35 million annually) went to Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, who the 49ers face on Sunday and who Aiyuk described as: “Dynamic. Just got to know where he’s at on every single play, because he’s that good.”
Shanahan on Jeffereson: “The way he can cut with his speed. There’s not an angle he can’t really run at, at full speed and drop his weight. He’s also fearless in how he plays. His hands are as good as anyone. I don’t know him personally, but from what I’ve heard people who have been with him, they say he’s one of the smartest players. He’s the full package.”
Aiyuk expects “repetition” will help him improve as fifth season gets going. He played 43 of 72 offensive snaps Monday night while Chris Conley mixed in with 29 and Ronnie Bell 13.
“He did a good job,” Shanahan said. “I never felt like he wasn’t conditioned. We rotated him more than usual which definitely helped.”
Aiyuk has scored a touchdown in four of his last five road games.