The San Francisco 49ers obviously haven't handled the Brandon Aiyuk negotiations perfectly.
If things had gone entirely to plan, Aiyuk would have been on the practice field with a contract to keep him with the team for years to come a long time ago.
Instead, the talks between the two sides have clearly strained their relationship, with Aiyuk frustrated to the point where he submitted a trade request that the 49ers at one point appeared ready to grant, agreeing frameworks with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots and then with the Pittsburgh Steelers .
But the 49ers are now seemingly closing in on an extension with Aiyuk and, with the start of the regular season rapidly approaching, San Francisco has a very different attitude to the talks to that displayed by Dallas Cowboys owner and de-facto GM Jerry Jones in regards to negotiations with their star receiver CeeDee Lamb.
Jones said earlier this month that he did not have any urgency to get a deal done with Lamb, a first-team All-Pro last season. Those comments contradicted Lamb's clear importance to the Cowboys and did not go down well with Dallas' star wideout.
Speaking about the Aiyuk situation on KNBR, 49ers GM John Lynch expressed markedly different sentiments.
Said Lynch: "I can tell you this: it's been a long, arduous, hard process, our journey. We started this early and, for whatever reason, haven't been able to get it across the finish line.
"That's been frustrating. But the communication, still, has been really good, both with Brandon and his agent, and we're trying to figure out solutions.
"I'm always hopeful. I'm an optimistic person [in] nature, and so I'm always hopeful that we'll get there and get there soon. I can tell you we feel the urgency to have him. The season's approaching, and we have ample time."
While Lynch expressed the urgency the franchise feels to get things done, his feeling that the Niners have ample time is likely reflective of the confidence they have in Aiyuk to be ready for the season despite his prolonged absence from practice.
"The good news is Brandon is a really, really hard worker," Lynch added. "He's taken great care of himself this offseason. He's in fantastic shape. But there's things you have to do on a football field, and getting yourself in there with our team. So we're working hard, and hopefully, there's a resolution soon."
Aiyuk's return to the sidelines at practice this week following an absence from the 49ers facility that stretched back to the end of last month was a promising sign that said resolution could be on the horizon. As they seemingly near the finish line, comments like those made by Lynch can only help the 49ers and Aiyuk get across it.
Neither Lamb nor Aiyuk has expressed a lot of satisfaction with their respective franchises this offseason but whenever Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have spoken to the media about their wide receiver, they have been savvy enough to avoid saying anything that would alienate their star wideout.
And, if the 49ers and Aiyuk reach a satisfactory conclusion, that should help San Francisco's standing with its players heading into next offseason, when Brock Purdy headlines a long list of players the Niners will be hoping to tie down as they look to try to keep their core together.
"I don't like that it's taken this long, but it has. And you deal with the challenges that you're faced with," Lynch said of the drawn out nature of the talks.
"I can tell you one thing. Lots of times when I'm talking to other GMs around the league on a variety of situations, a lot of them will call and say, 'Just pulling for you in that situation. I was in one last year.' Or something like that.
"One thing they always say is like, 'Man, we'd love to have your problems. You've got a lot of great players there.' And I think that's kudos to this entire organization. Our talent acquisition has been really good."
That talent acquisition will likely lead to further difficult negotiations down the line but Lynch will be keen for his comments on Aiyuk and holdout Trent Williams to be the last he has to make on any contracts in 2024.
Related: Kyle Shanahan's stance on Trent Williams contrasts recent reports about 49ers negotiations
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