Kyle Shanahan Expects the 49ers to Extend Brandon Aiyuk's Contract

"What I've found with us is it doesn't always happen right away but it's a matter of time before it ends up working out."

ORLANDO -- Kyle Shanahan was asked about Brandon AIyuk's potential contract extension with the 49ers Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting. Here's what Shanahan said.

Q: How important is it for Brock Purdy to have Brandon Aiyuk on the team long term?

SHANAHAN: "It's huge. It's hard to be successful at quarterback if you don't have good receivers, and so it starts with Brandon. It's real big for Brock and his future making sure we have a good group going forward."

Q: Do you talk to Brandon at all about what's going on?

SHANAHAN: "Not anything specific. I've seen Brandon a couple times. I actually ran into him in Cabo last week. He was randomly at our hotel. I don't think he wanted to be. And I've seen him up in the office a couple times. He's doing good. Hopefully we'll get this done sooner than later."

Q: Seems like there's a lot of anxiety during these negotiations. How do you remove yourself from that and maintain a good relationship with a player such as Aiyuk?

SHANAHAN: "I try to do exactly that -- remove myself from it. It's a very sensitive time because it means so much to the player and his family. I've watched it with Trent Williams, I've watched it with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Fred Warner. You just have to be patient. You have to let it play itself out and not get involved. Usually when you're in a situation like we are where we have a real good player who wants to be here and we want the player to be here really bad too, what I've found with us is it doesn't always happen right away but it's a matter of time before it ends up working out."

Q: Does your relationship with Brandon get strained at all?

SHANAHAN: "It hasn't so far. I've seen him a couple times and we've been good. I don't expect it to. I think Brandon understands the situation. I know I do. Excited to get him back playing for us."