What exhausting Aiyuk signing means for 49ers future

“Next offseason, the 49ers’ future core will come into focus.

It is likely the end for Deebo Samuel and others with the 49ers. The 49ers would save north of $9 million by trading him before June 1 and north of $17 million by trading him after it.

Cutting Javon Hargrave after June 1 would save the team $20.7 million. Maliek Collins’ non-guaranteed $10 million is another possible cut.

What about Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward? The latter of those two counts for north of $12 million on the cap next season, whether or not he plays for you, but it might be harder to replace Lenoir. It’s unlikely they can afford both.

Their entire focus will be on signing Brock Purdy – assuming he performs well this year – to a north-of $55 million-per-year extension. And if this offseason is any indication, their old ways of doing things – drawing out negotiations to the last second – would seem inadvisable.

They’ve now “lost” negotiations, if you will, to Bosa, McCaffrey, Aiyuk, and they will absolutely have to cave on Williams if they are even remotely serious about this last dance thing. They will not “win” on Purdy. After that, money’s going to get very tight.

But who’s in that group? With Aiyuk intact for the next two, and probably three seasons, who else sticks around?

There’s Christian McCaffrey for one more year. After that, it’s dependent on health and performance.

George Kittle is likely safe for another year. If he plays well, and stays healthy, he’ll stay a part of the core, too. But he’ll be 32 next season, and he admitted to us media members that he knows his play will determine what the future looks like. The 49ers’ lack of an in-house replacement helps his case, as does his All-Pro caliber at a position that’s not very expensive at the top of the market.

Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are lynchpins. They’re good, though Bosa is safer than Warner.”

Shoulder specialists weigh in on 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall’s painful summer (paywall)

“Two shoulder specialists agree with Shanahan that shoulder subluxations aren’t unusual among football players. However, they also addressed what Shanahan glossed over: It’s far less common to have Pearsall’s history with the injury.

Multiple partial dislocations can be evidence of recurrent anterior shoulder instability. The condition involves laxity or tears in the ligaments, tendons and muscles around the shoulder and often requires surgery.

“It’s correct to say this is a common football injury,” said Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. “A subluxation once? OK. But when it’s twice or three times where he has to sit out. … The reality is when you hear this is a recurring problem, the antenna goes up as to, ‘Is this something that needs to be addressed at some point?’”

Dr. Shahryar Ahmadi, an orthopedic surgeon at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, said multiple subluxations often indicate a labral tear, or stretching of the soft tissue around the shoulder joint. Shanahan said Pearsall does not have a torn labrum.

Ahmadi said Pearsall’s rehab from his latest subluxation likely involved strengthening exercises that can increase stability, but he was dubious that it would provide a cure-all.

“He took some rest and that can help him, but it’s not going to solve the problem,” Ahmadi said. “Sometimes we can do some rehab and physical therapy for the patient and it will strengthen the muscles around the shoulder. And those muscles around the shoulder work like a barrier that helps the shoulder not to sublux or dislocate. That can be helpful.”

How Moore is benefiting from Williams’ 49ers contract holdout

“It’s been very beneficial, I think,” Moore said. “Consistently getting reps against the ones, practicing against those guys every day, just finding a rhythm makes it a little bit better.

“I’m building the camaraderie with the (No. 1) O-line and just being a little more fluent.”

Moore has probably received more quality practice time than a lot of other backup offensive linemen in the NFL over the past several seasons.

Williams, 36, has regularly scheduled days off from practice during the season in order to keep him fresh for a long season.

And Moore, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, knows his place. He said he has tried to focus only on his own game instead of when he might have an opportunity to become a full-time starter.

“I just put my head down and keep working to get better every day,” he said. “And, of course, being behind the best left tackle of all time, just learning from him every day has been my calling card. I’m just trying to get as much from him while he’s here.”

49ers GM Lynch appointed to NFL’s Competition Committee

“The Competition Committee reviews all competitive aspects of the NFL, which includes playing rules, roster regulations, technology, game-day operations and player protection issues.”

Key questions for the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk now that the contract drama is over (paywall)

This season will be a different dynamic, though. Deebo Samuel and George Kittle both have two seasons left on their contracts. That means that next offseason, they’ll be looking for an extension.

Kittle, for instance, is paid $15 million per season. Is he worth only half as much as Aiyuk? Samuel knows he is likely to get traded after this season, when the 49ers make room for Brock Purdy’s new contract. So Kittle and Samuel have a vested interest in putting up solid numbers this season. Christian McCaffrey has four more years on his contract, but will he want to play four more years of MVP-caliber football at $15.5 million per year?

That’s not to say those guys are selfish, that they care more about personal stats than team success, or that greed is their primary motivator. But they all need to get the ball. You don’t want four guys running back to the huddle yelling at Purdy, “Dude, I’m open.”

Why Brandon Aiyuk’s fit with Brock Purdy was too good for 49ers, Kyle Shanahan to trade away (paywall)

“After finishing with a seemingly impressive 748 yards as a rookie in 2020, he learned early on the following year that he actually hadn’t been up to snuff in Shanahan’s eyes, and he had to work his way back into the starting lineup that season.

And Aiyuk put in the work.

By 2022, he was the team’s best-conditioned wideout, someone capable of playing every offensive snap at full tilt. He drove into his cuts to Shanahan’s satisfaction. He blocked downfield, he perfected his timing. He had the guts to go over the middle and the speed to go deep. And last season, he got even better at all of those things.

Which is why it seemed so absurd that the 49ers would even entertain the idea of trading Aiyuk. Purdy and Aiyuk seemed perfect for the famously fussy Shanahan. Just as important, they seemed perfect for each other.

……

The last time the 49ers were this talented and this laden with Super Bowl expectations was 2013. It was all or nothing that season, literally so. When they couldn’t beat the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, the veteran core quickly began to break apart. And when it did, there was no next generation to replace it. When Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, et al. were gone, the 49ers crashed to the bottom.

The current 49ers have the same high-end talent and the same weighty expectations. The difference is that the team has a collection of players in their mid-20s and — finally — a quarterback-receiver combination the exacting head coach likes.

The team’s Super Bowl window might dip in coming years as free agency and attrition take their toll. It doesn’t need to slam shut.”