George Kittle Implies 49ers Could Have Cleared Brandon Aiyuk Last Year

This is incredible.

Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

It's hard to take sides in the drama between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers because there's so much that happened in private that we don't know about.

For example, we thought Aiyuk didn't play last season because he supposedly botched his rehab and never was fully ready to play.

"He’s very blessed by the good Lord with his athletic ability, and those guys tend to heal faster," John Lynch said about Aiyuk on Nov. 6. "But still, it’s a long, long process, and you have to hit all the markers."

Meaning Aiyuk couldn't run as fast as he normally did before his knee injury. Supposedly.

On Monday, George Kittle went on the Pardon My Take podcast and was asked about Aiyuk's current skill level.

"The last time I saw Aiyuk was Week 6, 7 or 8," Kittle said." I don’t really know. I used to make it a habit of mine to go out early in the morning before meetings to watch him train because he’d always be out there early, and I watched him run over 22 miles per hour and stop on a dime. So he’s still got it, or at least that was eight months ago, so I don’t really know."

If Aiyuk could run that fast and slam on the brakes, it sounds like he was healthy enough to play. Keep in mind, Jauan Jennings hasn't run 22 miles per hour ever in his life, and the 49ers let him play football.

Last year, when Ricky Pearsall was taking longer than expected to return from his knee injury, I asked Kyle Shanahan why.

"We don't let people come back until they can hit their normal speeds before they got hurt, or it makes them susceptible to injury again," Shanahan said. "So we're just waiting until he hits those markers."

In Aiyuk's case, it sounds like he hit his markers, and the 49ers kept waiting. Maybe that's why Aiyuk eventually stopped showing up. Maybe he was ready to play all along, and the 49ers chose to keep him inactive because they didn't want to pay him even more money in 2027 if he were to get injured in a game.

Remember, Aiyuk was with the team every day from August through October. He was on the practice field during the week and running routes with the team before games. Perhaps he didn't go to the meeting or was disruptive in them, and that's why the 49ers didn't clear him. Whatever their real reason was, they didn't tell us. They blamed him for not hitting his markers, which wasn't true, according to Kittle.

It's too bad the 49ers let their relationship with Aiyuk get to this point, because they could have used him last year. Maybe they would have beaten the Seahawks in the regular-season finale with a fully healthy Aiyuk. All they needed was 14 points.

Maybe one day we'll find out what really went down between Aiyuk and the 49ers.