George Kittle doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Brandon Aiyuk, either.<\/p>\n
The 49ers All-Pro tight end detailed the tight relationship he had with the team\u2019s troubled receiver in a recent appearance on the \u201cBussin\u2019 With The Boys\u201d podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n But even Kittle hasn\u2019t seen Aiyuk<\/a> since he stopped showing up to the team facilities midway through last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n George Kittle doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Brandon Aiyuk, either. Getty Images<\/p>\n But even Kittle hasn\u2019t seen Aiyuk since he stopped showing up to the team facilities midway through last season.\u00a0 Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with Brandon,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what he\u2019s thinking about or what he\u2019s thinking. I really have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n The two shared a receiver room in San Francisco for the past four seasons. They stayed in touch during Aiyuk\u2019s contentious contract negotiation two summers ago. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Kittle continued to support Aiyuk even after the receiver stopped showing up in the Niners\u2019 locker room last season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was in and out of the building throughout those first couple weeks,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cI started going out to see him in the weight room because he didn\u2019t go into the locker room or the training room anymore. He would just go into the weight room to do his rehab.\u201d<\/p>\n Kittle continued to support Aiyuk even after the receiver stopped showing up in the Niners\u2019 locker room last season. Getty Images<\/p>\n The relationship soured between Aiyuk and 49ers management to the point that coach Kyle Shanahan said in December that he hadn\u2019t seen Aiyuk in \u201cmonths.\u201d <\/p>\n Kittle said he didn\u2019t raise the topic \u201cvery often\u201d with Shanhan or general manager John Lynch<\/a> (\u201cThat\u2019s on you guys,\u201d he said of them), but that didn\u2019t stop him from supporting someone who was still his teammate.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d just go out there to talk to him because he didn\u2019t go to meetings or anything like that. I just talked to him like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m your guy.\u2019 Just let him know I love ya,\u201d Kittle said. <\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \u201cI just try to be there for the players if there\u2019s something going on. Because you always want to be there for the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n But then Aiyuk wasn\u2019t there, at all.<\/p>\n According to Kittle, Aiyuk\u2019s disappearance \u2014 and subsequent off-the-field incidents, such as speeding his car at more than 90 mph past Levi\u2019s Stadium<\/a> \u2014 followed quickly after The Athletic broke the news in late November that the 49ers planned to void the $27 million in guaranteed money<\/a> that remained on the four-year, $120 million extension he signed before the 2024 season. <\/p>\n The story cited team sources who said Aiyuk had failed to follow the rehab protocols for the torn ACL he suffered weeks after signing the contract.<\/p>\n \u201cThat story came out, like all the crazy stuff, and then I didn\u2019t see him again,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cWe\u2019ve played together for four years now. I love you. I love playing football with you. How can I help? Literally two days later the article comes out and I don\u2019t see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n Kittle, now in the early stages of his own rehab process, did have one more correspondence with Aiyuk. He said the receiver reached out after Kittle tore his Achilles in their wild-card win over the Eagles.<\/p>\n \u201cSaid thinking of you. I said thanks dude,\u201d Kittle recalled before reiterating that he hasn\u2019t heard from him since. \u201c I haven\u2019t really talked to him. So I don\u2019t know. No clue.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
California Post Sports Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, X<\/a>
California Post Opinion<\/a>
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!<\/a>
California Post App: Download here!<\/a>
Home delivery: Sign up here!<\/a>
<\/a>Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n