Kyle Shanahan remains optimistic that Trent Williams will sign, while Aiyuk will take place in individual drills during Wednesday’s practice.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the team’s doctors have cleared wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk: “I hope that he’s out there practicing today. We’ll just have him go through individual things like that. Start having him run routes without quarterbacks. Probably won’t let him go against other guys.”
Shanahan said that Aiyuk had told him he was in playing shape, but he wanted to see it firsthand before he threwAiyuk back into the mix.
If Aiyuk refuses to practice, he could be fined. Shanahan said, “I’ll deal with that when it happens. If it happens.” He alsomade it clear that Aiyuk practicing is not a sign that an extension is around the corner.
As for Trent Williams, here’s what Shanahan said when asked if he’s been in contact and whether Williams can show up and play as if nothing happened:
“That all depends on when we see him, how he looks, how he feels. I haven’t talked to him in a number of days. We’ll let it be as close as possible. We got to get with him, we got to see him, we got to talk with him. Very similar with how we were with [Nick] Bosa. There wasn’t a day that we would put on the calendar and say this would be our last day. You hope it’s every day that’s already passed. Each day makes it harder and harder. But you don’t make that decision until you’ve talked to him.”
Shanahan said you always want a fourth offensive tackle. Three is enough, only if someone never gets hurt. “That’s why the final 53 is never the final 53, and it’s still pretty fluid right now,” Shanahan added that Brandon Parker and Chris Hubbard are options to re-sign.
Last week, Shanahan was optimistic about a deal getting done with Williams. He was asked whether his stance has changed:
“I’m optimistic that things will work out with Trent. I’m not sure what day it’ll be. We’re getting close to playing a game. My mind is completely on preparing for a game without those guys. I feel when two sides want to get a deal done, it happens.”