Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch set social media abuzz on Wednesday as the San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver shared particularly warm greetings with his head coach and general manager.
The seemingly joyous nature of the handshakes Aiyuk engaged in with both Shanahan and Lynch had many speculating whether they could be a signal of a breakthrough in negotiations over a long-term contract extension that have often seemed particularly fractious.
But Shanahan poured cold water on such notions in his Friday press conference, in which he could provide no update on the status of talks with the All-Pro wideout.
“That’s just usually how we greet each other, honestly," Shanahan said.
"You guys would see maybe a lot more hugs in here if we had a film for you guys, but we’re not on Hard Knocks.
"We saw him on the field. He hadn’t been on the field a lot. We walked by each other and it’s usually how we greet each other. Bro hug, nothing more, nothing less. Thank you."
The fact Aiyuk at least elected to report to training camp but skip practice rather than going down the road of a full holdout was seen as a positive step in a long saga that has gone on far longer than it needed to .
Despite that apparent progress, the two sides appear no closer to a deal to bring their stand-off to an end.
Until that happens, it's clear that it's best to avoid reading too much into the body language of Aiyuk when he meets with Lynch or Shanahan. Only when he is finally back out there in pads and uniform will anything Aiyuk does on the field be of any significance.
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