PHOENIX — Monday night, the NFL threw its annual party at the owners’ meetings at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, with the open bar enticing owners, general managers, coaches and the unassuming media types to unwind a little and share a laugh. The party has changed over the past couple of decades, with the presence of families growing large enough that there is now a grilled cheese station.
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan spent most of the night with friend, former co-worker and current Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters. Yes, the topic of Brandon Aiyuk surely came up … but probably not for as long as you think. The 49ers have made it clear that Aiyuk won’t be back — never mind owner Jed York’s comments earlier Monday — but they’re not just going to release the receiver anytime soon. And it’s not a petty move out of bitterness, upset that Aiyuk just stopped showing up for his rehab from his knee injury last season.
The logic is simple: If a team is interested in Aiyuk’s services — and spending as much time with him this spring as possible — it can trade the 49ers a draft pick. Why would the 49ers do a team that they compete with a favor by handing Aiyuk over for free now? Perhaps they’ll release him after the draft if they can’t find a suitor by then. But San Francisco can wait much longer if it wants to — the team doesn’t owe Aiyuk anything until his option bonus is due Sept. 1.
The Commanders are seen as the logical team to grab Aiyuk because of his familiarity with Peters from their time with the 49ers and quarterback Jayden Daniels from when they were teammates at Arizona State. But the Commanders have not sent over a draft pick yet, which begs the question: Are they even sure Aiyuk wants to play in 2026 after walking away from that guaranteed money six months ago?
As for York, he raised some eyebrows Monday morning when he told reporters that he wouldn’t mind seeing Aiyuk come back to the 49ers. Now, context is key, as York had just returned from traveling overseas. He started the media session by saying he was watching a video of Shanahan talking about Christian Kirk on his flight Sunday and thought his coach was tampering — he had no idea the 49ers had signed the former Houston Texans receiver.
York was speaking more in general terms about Aiyuk’s talent, perhaps not realizing Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have shown zero interest in bringing Aiyuk back. Furthermore, there is no space for him anymore in the budget.
Maybe York was just taking a jet-lagged step at trying to create some leverage for a trade that no team is currently jumping at.
“Bill Parcells said this, and I talked to J.L. and Kyle about this — our job is to build a culture and to make sure that we bring talent into the building,” York said. “B.A. is a very talented guy. Would love to be able to bring him back into the fold, and if not, I think he’s a valuable asset that other people would want.”
The Aiyuk fallout won’t go away overnight like the concerns over the substation, but there were plenty of other things going on at the Biltmore. We canvassed the lobby and bar area to bring you the latest.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
The 49ers and Los Angeles Rams appear to be taking entirely different approaches when it comes to their Week 1 matchup in Australia.
While the 49ers plan to arrive in Melbourne well ahead of the game — Lynch said they might show up roughly a week early — the Rams’ time there will be much shorter.
This past season, for example, the Rams arrived in London one day before their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which they won 35-7. The early indication is they’ll arrive in Melbourne on Wednesday, Sept. 9, for a game that will be played at 10:35 a.m. local time that Friday. Because of the time difference, kickoff will be 5:35 p.m. Thursday on the West Coast.
The 49ers have been more methodical in their approach to games on foreign soil. They spent a week in the London area before games in 2010 and 2013, both victories. In 2022, they practiced in Colorado Springs in an effort to adjust to the higher altitude ahead of a game against the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, a 38-10 win for the 49ers.
Lynch said the team is considering a similar warmup for this season’s game in Mexico City, which will likely be played in November. The 49ers don’t yet know their opponent, though they can block two teams from playing in that game. Those teams: The Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders.
The 49ers didn’t want to face the Broncos because they feel Denver would have an advantage in a contest played at 7,200 feet above sea level, only 2,000 feet above the Broncos’ own stadium. The Raiders, meanwhile, are expected to be a big draw at Levi’s Stadium given their Bay Area roots.
Shanahan had one idea: How about the Rams? Shanahan told PFT Live the division rival requested the 49ers for their home game abroad — making San Francisco fly 18 hours to play them in Australia — because Niners fans dominate the crowd at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.
“That would suck to have to do silent cadence and to have our home game at their stadium,” Shanahan said. “So I get their ambitions, but they were rewarded that. So I’m just hoping we can get our request, too. I’d love them to come to Mexico.”
Why Jennings is still on the market
Why does Jauan Jennings, the 49ers’ top wide receiver the past two seasons, remain a free agent? League officials in Phoenix all had the same answer: He’s asking for too much money.
“He’s outplayed his talent,” one head coach said.
The 49ers and Jennings — who is the only player still available among the top 36 of The Athletic’s free-agent rankings — tried to hash out a long-term deal last summer but couldn’t and instead settled on a reworked one-year deal.
“We made a lot of efforts to try to get Jauan done long-term,” Lynch said Sunday. “Last year, we came up with a one-year deal with some incentives, and Jauan, to his credit, went and earned those. He was a pro. … Jauan’s one of my favorite players and one of Kyle’s favorite players. He’ll find a good home. And I think Jauan will go play great football for someone.”
Skyy’s the limit
It was a little under the radar, but the 49ers’ brass was sorry to see receiver Skyy Moore leave in free agency for the Green Bay Packers. He was their best kick returner in some time, and Shanahan was looking forward to getting him more involved in the passing game after Moore was a late arrival via trade last season.
Moore signed a one-year deal for $2.5 million with the Packers, and he can earn as much as $4.5 million with incentives. The 49ers were just unable to go that high.
Très bien
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said he thinks backup quarterback Trey Lance can have the same sort of later-career resurgence former early-round picks Geno Smith and Sam Darnold have had. Harbaugh, in fact, was surprised to learn Lance is still just 25 years old.
“He’s gotta be 26 by now, right?” he said. (Lance, the former 49ers’ first-round pick, turns 26 in May).
“Great guy, great pro, great competitor — and we saw some really good development in him last year,” Harbaugh added. “And it continues. He’s at that age, right? I mean, that’s the fat part of the bat right there for a quarterback. So I’m excited for his continued progress.”
What Kirk brings
Shanahan said Monday he has been “a huge fan” of Kirk since the receiver’s days playing for Texas A&M and that he “hated going against him in Arizona.”
Kirk played for the Texans last season, and coach DeMeco Ryans said this week that he will be missed.
“He’s a great young man,” Ryans said. “Really provided a lot to our locker room from a leadership standpoint. … We had a lot of young receivers this past year, and thought Christian did a really good job of helping out those young guys. They’re able to lean on him and gain some of his insight and experience that he’s had from being a pro for a while.”
Sounds great for Ricky Pearsall, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins.
JFM taxes
It wasn’t a perfect offseason for the 49ers, who are pretty giddy about adding Mike Evans, Kirk and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. There’s the one who got away, former Denver Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers.
The 49ers were in heavy on the veteran, who opted to sign with the Tennessee Titans for three years and $63 million. His agent mentioned the state taxes in California, but York isn’t buying it.
“It’ll come up, but I think it comes up as an excuse from the agent,” York said. “It comes up after the fact, but he has a connection with (former 49ers defensive coordinator and new Titans head coach Robert) Saleh. I don’t believe that’s really what made the decision.
“Mike Evans came here from a zero-tax state. I don’t think it’s a major issue.”
Mac the knife
Asked why 49ers backup quarterback Mac Jones hasn’t had a more robust trade market this offseason, Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken said he couldn’t comment because Jones is under contract with San Francisco and a comment might be construed as tampering.
“I would just tell Kyle to cut him,” Monken said archly. “And then we’ll see what the market is.”