The San Francisco 49ers recently announced that they were canceling mandatory minicamp. San Francisco was going to hold its minicamp on June 9 and 10, but a team official told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco on June 3 that head coach Kyle Shanahan had decided to cancel it.
The move comes after the team showed 100 percent attendance at this week’s voluntary workouts. Nonetheless, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio floated a conspiracy theory, noting that the Niners might have canceled mandatory minicamp because Brandon Aiyuk might show up.
“Last week, Kyle Shanahan announced that he had canceled the 49ers’ mandatory mini camp,” Florio said on the June 8 edition of “PFT Live.” “If they hadn’t canceled that mini camp, and I wonder how much of the decision to cancel the mini camp was influenced by the very real possibility Aiyuk could have shown up and said, ‘I’m here. Put me on the field. Let me practice.‘
“It was established nearly 20 years ago when Steve McNair was on the Titans and they were waiting for the Ravens to give them the trade offer that they liked and they basically locked McNair out of the building. You can’t keep a player away from the facilit; you can’t keep a player away from practice. You have to welcome him in as a member of the team or you have to cut him or trade him.”
49ers Don’t Want to Owe Brandon Aiyuk More Money
Moreover, Florio notes that if Aiyuk had shown up for mandatory minicamp and were to get injured while practicing or using the facilities, the 49ers would be on the hook for his salary.
“If Aiyuk had shown up for the mandatory minicamp, they would have had a decision to make because you have a fluke injury on the field, mandatory minicamp, you have an accident in the locker room, anything,“ Florio added. “We’ve seen all sorts of crazy things happen. Anthony Richardson, case in point, all of a sudden, you owe Brandon Aiyuk another $26 million.
“I wonder how much of that mandatory minicamp cancellation was aimed at making sure there wasn’t some awkward interaction this week with Brandon Aiyuk, but now it’s kicked to training camp. And Aiyuk needs to show up. He needs to show up and force their hand. If he doesn’t show up, they can continue to put him on ice. They can continue to wait for some sort of trade that hasn’t materialized.”
Brandon Aiyuk Breaks Silence Amid Situation With Niners
Meanwhile, on June 7, Aiyuk broke his silence, and while he didn’t mention the 49ers by name, it did appear as though the wideout was hinting at the organization as he vented his frustration.
“The truth is they scared,“ Aiyuk said in his 90-second clip (h/t The San Francisco Standard). “They know how I get. They gonna say, ‘Oh yes, BA did this, BA did that. BA did, you know, that s—.‘ Allegedly. Allegedly. But what they’re not going to say is, ‘BA sucks at football’, because they know how I get. And they’re running from that belt that’s on the way.”
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