49ers legendary WR Jerry Rice chimes in on Brandon Aiyuk situation

The San Francisco 49ers have yet to find a resolution on a contract extension for star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, with the two sides still negotiating as training camp nears less than two weeks away.

Aiyuk, 26, has looked for a long-term deal for much of this offseason, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement as the wide receiver market has skyrocketed with the emergence of several new deals at the position.

Speaking to NBC Sports’s Matt Maiocco, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice took the time to chime in with his thoughts on the Aiyuk situation at this stage of the negotiations.

“I think he would love to have had that security already, and he wouldn’t have to really think about it, and he can just go play football,” Rice said. “But still, he has the opportunity where he can just showcase his ability, and it’s a one-year deal. Then he can go anywhere he wants to go.”

Aiyuk is currently slated to play this upcoming year on the $14.124 million fifth-year option before becoming a free agent next year. However, the 49ers have the option of franchise tagging their star wideout, should it get to that stage, with the possibility of that even occurring twice at a reasonable cost.

As a result, the 49ers wideout is in a difficult position as he looks for that coveted financial security, with San Francisco holding much of the leverage in the situation.

Does Rice think a deal can get done now?

“I don’t know. That’s up to management. They make the decisions. They do all of those things. And we’ll see what happens, though. We can’t let that be a distraction or anything because that door, eventually, is gonna close, and we are so close right now, we gotta kick it in.”

With the uncertainty in the air, the Hall-of-Famer suggested that Aiyuk just focus on himself as a player and look to play at the best of his abilities in order to get what he’s ultimately looking for.

“I think the main thing for him, right now, he’s just got to play his best football. He’s got to show everybody that, ‘Hey, look, I’m that number one guy, and if you make me that number one guy, I’m gonna be productive.’”

“I think his main focus, right now, Brandon Aiyuk, is just to play football. Play football, and just let his ability speak for itself, and we’ll see what happens after this season.”

The 49ers surely hope to get some progress ahead of free agency, as Aiyuk has not practiced with the team all offseason.

San Francisco has dealt with its fair share of contract disputes in recent history, with defensive end Nick Bosa’s massive deal lingering all the way until Week 1 of last year, while Deebo Samuel’s came midway into training camp.

As a result, both players didn’t seem fully ready at the beginning of the season, which isn’t something the 49ers should want with Aiyuk in a year that they’re looking to go all in on their goal of a championship.