San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch doesn’t like the ongoing Brandon Aiyuk situation to be a distraction.
Aiyuk, currently on the 49ers’ reserve/non-reporting list, unexpectedly filed for reinstatement earlier this week. The 28-year-old wide receiver’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Wednesday that Aiyuk is “healthy and ready to get back on the field” and added that he and his client plan to “put our best foot forward.”
Aiyuk is expected to be at the Niners’ facility on Friday to determine next steps. On Thursday, Lynch spoke about the “unique situation” on KNBR.
“Look, I think the way I’m going to put it is, number one, we’ve got a 6-1 football team that we think has really got a chance at this thing this year,” Lynch said, via Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper.
“So our focus will remain on this team. Kyle talked about that yesterday. With that said, I have a job to do, and it requires a lot of different things. It’s kind of a unique situation, you don’t have — so there’s not really a playbook, but I always go back to what my charge is, what my job is. My job is to look out for the best interest of them, specifically the management of the 49, like our NFL management. council to navigate in a different kind of situation.
Lynch described the entire process as “fluid” and said more will be known about the 49ers’ plan for Aiyuk once the two sides come together. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that he has “moved on” mentally from Aiyuk.
While the 49ers likely decided to move on from Aiyuk anyway, neither Lynch nor Shanahan would rule out any specific outcome — at least one in which Aiyuk would return to the team.
The 49ers are tied for the best record in the NFL through 8 weeks. Adding a complete enigma in Aiyuk, who has been at odds with the Niners over the past year, may not necessarily shake up the team.