There are plenty of problems behind the 49ers’ troublesome 2024 season, but one former quarterbacking star feels it all started with Brandon Aiyuk’s drama.
The rest of the NFL is beginning the process of performing an autopsy on the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 campaign.
While it’s still not technically over for the 5-7 Niners, for all intents and purposes, it is. In last place within the NFC West and owning a 1-3 record, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad has only scant hopes of somehow getting into the playoffs.
But, the realistic viewpoint is that it’s essentially a lost season, even if not yet official. Over the course of just 12 games since last February, San Francisco has gone from a top Super Bowl contender to a bottom-feeder.
So, where did it all go wrong? What was the biggest moment in a year full of bad moments out in Northern California?
One former NFL quarterback, turned league analyst, seems to have pinpointed a specific issue.
The 49ers have endured something of a “perfect storm” of adverse moments over the course of 2024, highlighted by injuries and personal player tragedies.
But an odd feeling encompassed much of last offseason, and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III concluded the Niners’ collapse can be traced back to the seemingly endless contractual saga with star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
In a post on X/Twitter, the former ESPN league analyst said:
“Brandon Aiyuk’s offseason negotiations threw off the chemistry of the team. Not because he was at fault for getting his money, but because the organization let it drag out all offseason and into training camp.”
Indeed, the speculation about Aiyuk’s immediate future with the franchise cast a shadow over all offseason activities. At certain points, it felt the team’s leading receiver from the previous two seasons was about to be traded. Then he wasn’t. Then he was. There’d be cryptic posts from the receiver on social media, only feeding the rife trade rumors and speculation that would continue to flow.
At least until Aiyuk and San Francisco finally reached an extension just before the regular season.
Griffin did mention Aiyuk’s subsequent ACL and MCL tears, as well as additional injuries to other key players, too, including All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
But the Aiyuk saga seemed to be Griffin’s conclusion behind the 49ers’ fall from grace:
“This is why you don’t let the Aiyuk negotiations linger in the offseason. You get the business done early so the full focus of the team is on the season and not on distractions regardless of who was at fault for the extended negotiations. The 49ers were distracted all offseason and now they are paying for those negative vibes during the year.”
Exactly how much of a role this played in the Niners’ 2024 issues is debatable. After all, San Francisco has gone through contractual standoffs before (see fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel in 2022) but managed to navigate the subsequent season effectively.
So, perhaps, there’s more to the story than just one player’s extension drama.
However, Griffin isn’t wrong about this particular case casting odd vibes over the franchise for nearly a full offseason.
But it isn’t the sole reason. And it might not even be the biggest one.
