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Two days before the San Francisco 49ers will open their 2024 season on “Monday Night Football” against the New York Jets, head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on the kind of workload recent holdouts left tackle Trent Williams and wideout Brandon Aiyuk can expect.
Shanahan told reporters he’d like to see Williams play the entire game, saying it’d be “weird” to see the three-time All-Pro sitting on the sidelines. However, following a long layoff, the 49ers plan to scrutinize the left tackle’s reps heavily while keeping the lines of communication open.
“That’s something we’ll be on top of throughout the game and he’ll be honest with us on how he feels,” Shanahan said via the 49ers.
Shanahan admitted that he’s not used to rotating tackles along the offensive line, hinting that he’d do it only if necessary. Should Williams need a blow, the 49ers would likely have to plug in 2021 fifth-round pick Jaylon Moore in his place, but former Defensive Player of the Year edge-rusher Nick Bosa doesn’t believe that will be necessary.
“We were texting a little bit, and I said, ‘Whenever you show up, I’ll give you some live reps,’ but I don’t think he needs them,” Bosa said earlier this week via KNBR.
In the case of Aiyuk, the picture looks similar. But Shanahan acknowledged that while the talented fifth-year wideout “usually” plays most of the offense snaps, that may not be the case on Monday night.
“I’d probably be surprised with that same amount,” Shanahan said. “But he’s in good shape. He’s had a really good week. He looks good and he’s ready to go.”
Whatever reps Aiyuk gets, he’s likely to be in rhythm with quarterback Brock Purdy. The Pro Bowl signal-caller revealed on Friday that the pair had been working together away from practice over the last few days to get back on the same page, with encouraging results.
“When it comes to our base route trees, our concepts and running and me throwing him out of his breaks, I’m not gonna lie, it feels pretty normal, it feels pretty good,” Purdy said via KNBR.
Aiyuk was the first to end his holdout, inking a four-year, $120 million extension on Aug. 29, while Williams followed less than a week later, signing a three-year deal worth $82.6 million on Sept. 3. With the season opener only days away, that doesn’t give either player much time to get back up to speed.
Nevertheless, it seems like the 49ers are handling the situation as best they can, taking caution where needed. However, it should be interesting to see if Aiyuk or Williams are impacted by their lengthy time away from the team.
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