Brandon Aiyuk hasn't just been sitting strapped into a roller-coaster; sometimes, he's been the conductor of the ride.
The standout receiver tore his ACL and MCL in the San Francisco 49ers' Week 7 game last season; not his fault, of course, and after surgery in November, the assumption remains that the star wide receiver will miss a chunk of games in the beginning of the 2025 season.
The contract drama of a year ago, with talk of trade demands and the like?
Yes, Aiyuk was obviously in charge of part of that.
So now he's paid ($120 million) and now he's hurt.
What does GM John Lynch thinks comes next?
“Brandon’s doing a tremendous job coming back,'' Lynch said. "We’re proud of Brandon, and we’re looking forward to him being part of this team moving forward. We made a big investment in him. We’re proud to have him part of our franchise, and looking for big things from him. And we’re gonna let him get right before we get him back on that field.
"But he’s an important part of this team.”
Those remarks, made on the Pat McAfee Show, paint a very positive picture regarding the player's progress. But tucked in there is something else of value.
Lynch certainly sounds as if he's trying to downplay the rumors about the Niners being willing to trade Aiyuk.
Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Aiyuk will likely not be ready for the start of training camp in late July. There is an increasing belief that the former 1,300-yard receiver will start the season on the PUP list, meaning he will miss at least the first four games. ...
And this is where the trade rumors downplay themselves. ... and go dead.
Even after trading away Deebo Samuel (to Washington), San Francisco should have plenty of weapons to compete. Pass-catchers Jauan Jennings and George Kittle long with superstar running back Christian McCaffrey can accomplish plenty in this Brock Purdy-led offense.
So the 49ers could in theory succeed in a post-Aiyuk trade.
But ...
At this point, with all of the money combined with all of the unknown ... who in the world is trading for him?
It's been encouraging to see Aiyuk attending workouts, moving around, visiting with the fellas.
"He's making his way back, he's still in the middle of it, so he's working through that," Shanahan said this week. "He's been around, been rehabbing for the most part. He's been out to some practices and it was good to have him out today."
Great. Because all things considered, the 49ers and Aiyuk are stuck with each other, for better or for worse.