Title is a little wonky because of character limits, full quotes on both Trent Williams and Aiyuk bolded below.
Full interview here, joins KNBR weekly. Lot of ads (10-15min interview that became 21min)
On Aiyuk: "No news, nothing's changed… We've been in the same situation for a while. There's still plenty of options, plenty of directions that can happen, and we're still trying to get to the bottom of it and figure it out, but nothing has changed in that way"
On Trent Williams: "We're having a lot of discussions with his agent. Trent's not here right now obviously, not at camp… Talking with his agent a lot, and hopefully we can figure it out, and as I've said the whole time, I am optimistic we will, but of course the sooner the better."
On Pearsall: Said missing pre-season has a big impact on rookies. "Needs the reps, needs the practice, just like all those guys do." Basically said they have to protect him from himself cause he'll try to go play no matter how hurt he is, "trying to get it as solid as it can and hopefully we'll get him in next week"
Starters in for a series or two for the upcoming pre-season game, play them more in the 3rd game
Tolbert joked about the shoddy kick coverage, "You weren't lying last week, you guys didn't show much at all in your kick coverage." Kyle talked about it for a couple minutes, said seeing how other teams handle it will give even further clarity. Gave Mustapha some props but said they still only managed to down them at the 24yd line, so they likely need to readjust.
RB room: JP Mason and Eli both really started focusing on being more of a receiving threat after seeing CMC up close and seeing all he can bring to game, JP mentioned working a lot with the jugs machine this off-season but Shanahan says it's been ongoing since last off-season, "you keep stacking off-season like that and it only gets better and it's shown a lot for those guys"
Puni: quickly thrust in with the 1s after a couple injuries but he's adjusted well, some rookie moments (to be expected, especially against this DL), but he's handled it well when many other rookies would be more shocked, "it never seemed to big for him"
Mustapha: "coming out of college he was obviously a hitter… we love people who hit," issue with some "hitters" is they can end up a liability if all they do is hunt big hits, cool to see him in practice where he isn't allowed to tackle and able to show other aspects of his game (adjusts well to different formations, has been good in pass coverage, "smart player out there in practice"), "He's (probably) been a hitter since… he was born, but he's fitting in well with our defense"
WR room: "ideally you pencil down for 6 [on the depth chart]," Niners have done 5 or 7 so it comes down to who deserves it, if everyone is healthy those last few spots depend on special teams production, top 3 receivers play most, 4th guy needs to be able to rotate in for any of the top 3 at any given moment, 5th guy is a special teamer (returner, maybe gunner), very likely don't dress 6
pre-season is also good for the coaches, everyone needs warm up games (joked about getting a flag for being on the field)
excited for Klay Kubiak to get the opportunity call the game but found it weird not having those duties ("isn't quite as fun"), "I was a lot more personable… I actually could carry conversations with people that came up to me, I could talk to the refs a lot more," will be back calling the plays this Sunday (really talks up Klay Kubiak during this whole segment)
in regards to pre-season tape and teams trying to "hide" sets or game other teams: you analyze it and see if it meshes with previous film, most important for 1st year OC or OCs joining new staffs (compare calls with new team vs old), prefers playing established OCs and offenses for week 1 because you can dig into their old film instead of just pre-season reps… will still need to adjust after the 1st quarter as always
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I think if the coaching staff works hard enough, we can transform Draymond into a top tier receiver to replace Aiyuk
This definitely doesn’t sound like it’s almost a done deal with BA. Someone reported the money was already agreed to and the hold up was the years on the deal.
Dam wtf
Kyle never says he optimistic about anything so by my reasoning this is good on both fronts lol
The 49er are an all-in SB contending team. They simply cannot not have Trent on the roster. It’s gonna get done.
tired of it now
Honestly think the talk about the kick coverage was the most interesting part of the interview. Mentioned it’s still so new, but they now have film on how all the other teams are handling it, can use that to help adjust and find what works best for them. Was asked if it’s worth eating the 5yd penalty for kicking it straight out of the endzone, spotting the opponent right at the 30 just to avoid a potential monster return. Said a lot of things are on the table because it’s still so early in its implementation, so teams will be adjusting all season figuring out the best course of action.
Also liked the talk about building out his WR depth chart. Top 3 are your go to guys, WR4 needs to be a do-it-all who can slot in wherever/whenever one of the top 3 needs rest. WR5 is likely the special teamer (return man, maybe gunner), and WR6 doesn’t suit up on game days (may even just dress 4 if they are thing at other positions). Usually shoot for 6 WRs on the roster, but team composition could cut it down to 5 or let it balloon to 7. Didn’t name anyone specific for those backend depth spots, just quickly went over the thought process on filling out the room.
Shanahan saying this means the deal is far off and a trade is definitely still the table…like was reported 3 days ago.
Tbh I think this Aiyuk thing is taking attention away from the Williams negotiation which is more important.
We need to resolve this thing before September…whether that means moving him…so be it.
Yo Jerry, what the fuck? I thought this shit was situated…
For my part, no ill will. It’s all money. I’d be thrilled to have him back next year if they can make it work.
I thought Jerry rice said we would know by now
Great verbal breakdown. Props to the OP for the share here and the format. 🙏🏻