Is Brandon Aiyuk the Answer to the 49ers’ Mounting WR Injury Woes???

The 49ers are winning with a fullback, a tight end, and Christian McCaffrey. They are running out of receivers. And the one available receiver everybody knows is not an option, and Rich had a lesson in that for everyone listening.

First, the good news in San Francisco. Rich started with the defense under Raheem Morris. "What a favor Atlanta did by bouncing him in time for them to hire him," he said. Twenty points allowed through two games. "That's it. Combined. End of story." That makes the Niners' eventual trip to Atlanta a juicy one, with Morris facing his old team and Kyle Shanahan returning to a place where he was once the offensive coordinator.

Brock Purdy has looked terrific on the ground and in the air, Rich said, making one mistake in Australia, tapping his chest, and then pushing "pedal to the metal." McCaffrey is "doing Hall of Fame things." He now has 50 or more touchdowns for two different franchises, San Francisco and Carolina, joining Marshall Faulk and Randy Moss as the only players to do it. He also reached 100 career scrimmage touchdowns in 114 games, one game faster than Jerry Rice. George Kittle scored. Kyle Juszczyk scored.

The problem is who else is left. Another receiver got carted off, and Shanahan laid out the damage. "It was big losing Sterling last week. You guys know how big it was losing Ricky over the summer. And then losing Deebo today was huge." Christian Kirk could be back in a couple of weeks. "I'm sure we'll have to add somebody," Shanahan said, "whether it's the practice squad or to the roster."

And when the name Brandon Aiyuk came up, the answer was one word. "No."

"Which is wild because they need him," someone on the desk said. Rich agreed it's wild, and then turned it into a lesson for his kids and anyone else listening.

"There is going to be adversity that happens in your life and certainly your professional life," he said. The boss is going to make you mad. You are going to feel disrespected over money, time, effort, or assignment. "What you cannot do is tell the bosses FU and stick it." If Aiyuk had not done that, Rich argued, "he would either be on the team right now or the 9ers would be calling him on speed dial."

His counterexample was Jimmy Garoppolo, who knew it was over in San Francisco after taking the team to a Super Bowl and an NFC Championship Game. Garoppolo did not go on Instagram or TikTok or blow anything up. He showed up to training camp because he had to, got told he was 19th on the depth chart, "and guess who played football for them later on that year?"

"Don't forget about burning a bridge," Rich said. "Don't blow it up like it's Over the River Kwai. Look that up as a reference."

He was not saying Aiyuk lacks a market. With what is happening at receiver around the league, "if he's healthy, he is going to have a market." Rich figured Rosenhaus is looking around at these rosters and going, "Everybody, you got my number." But it would be nice, Rich said, if the 9ers could call Aiyuk rather than go with, in his paraphrase of Shanahan, "some people around here who have done some things for us."

"I'm sure Jerry Rice is in shape," Rich cracked.

One of the crew added a personal note. Years ago, getting let go by AT&T could have been a moment to blow things up. Staying professional won out instead. "You really fought for me with them to get me back," came the reminder to Rich, "and that's the only reason I'm even sitting here, because I didn't blow up."

Rich's closing thought was simple. "What goes around will eventually come back around." And Aiyuk, he said, would have had a big-time opportunity with a team that is otherwise ready to roll.