John Lynch says the 49ers' Relationship with Brandon Aiyuk is Good

I still wouldn't be shocked if the 49ers were to trade him at the deadline or next offseason.

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) catches a pass between Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) and safety Chamarri Conner (27) in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The 49ers' relationship with Brandon Aiyuk hasn't seemed right since he requested a trade last offseason.

Of course, the 49ers didn't trade Aiyuk, although they almost did. At the last minute, Aiyuk accepted their offer because he didn't seem to want to go to the Steelers. And yet, he still seems upset with the 49ers at times. He posted cryptic messages on social media the past few weeks. And at minicamp this week, Terrell Owens gave him a long speech on the sideline.

So when general manager John Lynch went on The Pat McAfee Show this week, of course he was asked about the 49ers' relationship with Aiyuk.

"Relationship's good," Lynch said. "Brandon's been here. He had a tough injury. Everyone saw that play against Kansas City. It was crushing for us because Brandon's such a big part of who we are. Looking back on the Brandon situation, I think every situation that you go through in life, in football, in this job, it's a learning opportunity. I look at things like that, like, what could we have done differently to have made that a little more seamless?

"Sometimes those things are tough; they can be contentious. There's things that I learned that, yeah, would we have done some things differently? Brandon and I have had these conversations that -- are there things he would have done differently? Absolutely. But one thing, I think, in families, you have little spats, and then you give a big hug at the end, and you work together, and that's where we're at.

"Brandon's doing a tremendous job coming back. These guys that are incredibly skilled athletes, they tend to heal a lot faster. It's kind of incredible how well he's healing, and he's putting in the work. We're proud of Brandon, and we're looking forward to him being part of this team moving forward.

"We made a big investment in him. We're proud to have him part of our franchise and looking for big things from him. We're gonna let him get right before we get him back on that field, but he's a big, he's an important part of this team."

Lynch is relentlessly positive and optimistic, but I'm not sure Aiyuk is. And it sounds like he still harbors some resentment toward the organization over things that were said during last year's contract negotiation.

I still wouldn't be shocked if the 49ers were to trade him at the deadline or next offseason, considering they tried to trade him in February.

That's how good their relationship with him really is.