The Brandon Aiyuk saga has reached a boiling point. The All-Pro wide receiver has been given permission to speak to other teams as he seeks a near top-of-market deal, and the 49ers seem committed to not matching that price tag.
Kyle Shanahan confirmed Tuesday Aiyuk has been given that permission, but said that "nothing has changed" from the 49ers' perspective. He added that Aiyuk was in the building Tuesday and attended meetings.
This all comes after a report from NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco Monday night said that the 49ers had deal structures in place with the Browns and Patriots. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday the Steelers re-joined the fray.
Despite that suggestion of nothing new to report, Shanahan was not particularly rose-tinted about a deal getting done, at least soon. He said the situation does not need to be resolved soon.
"No. I mean, you always want it to be [resolved] badly," Shanahan said. "But this stuff does take time. And every day I hope it gets resolved. But I have no timetable on it. It didn't surprise me coming into this going about coaching our team getting ready for week one. Hopefully it'll get resolved sooner than later."
Asked if there's a scenario for Aiyuk to sign a long-term extension, Shanahan put all options on the table, but didn't respond to the extension proposal as the leading option.
"There's a scenario for everything," Shanahan said. "So I wouldn't rule anything out."
Shanahan did praise Aiyuk, though, saying it's difficult for the 49ers to improve by dealing him.
"Brandon's a great player," Shanahan said. "So it's real hard to be better when you lose a great player. So we got to look into anything, we got to understand the situation we're in and what that looks like. And that does take time, so hopefully it all will work out the best for him and best for us in the long run."
The most dour quote of the day came when asked about wi
"It's been at this point for a little bit so it's nothing really new to me," Shanahan said. "You're always disappointed when you can't keep a hold of all your players, or it's not going exactly right. I mean, I don't like losing anybody. So that's why I'm hoping it does work out here, but right now we don't have that solved yet, so I hope it does."
He maintained that "nothing's changed." He also offered an alternative version of his "I can’t guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday," quote when I asked if he would be comfortable with Ricky Pearsall starting week one.
Shanahan's point is that he has to constantly adapt to injuries, so whether it's Pearsall or Aiyuk or anyone else, things happen. But he made that point by highlighting to season-ending injuries to Jerick McKinnon and Jimmy Garoppolo.
"I feel comfortable with whoever it is," Shanahan said. "That's just the issue as a coach, always. There's times-- I think Aiyuk missed a game last year. We had to do that. So it's something you're always prepared for. He could also be with us and everything could be great and he could get hurt like has happened plenty of times. We lost a running back on a walkthrough the practice before our first game a few years ago with Jet McKinnon and didn't have him for the whole year. We got a quarterback who tore his ACL in week three one year. So stuff that you're always used to."
The short and long of all this from Shanahan is that there is no resolution at this moment, but that there are clear, active discussions with the Browns, Patriots and Steelers. The first two hinge on Aiyuk, and the latter seems to hinge on the 49ers, and Aiyuk, who has made them known as a preferable destination.