Brandon Aiyuk missed all of training camp with the San Francisco 49ers while in search of a new contract, and Peyton Manning thinks the lack of practice time was a factor in Monday night’s game.
Aiyuk caught 2 passes for 28 yards in his team’s 32-19 win over the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. He had a good chance at a touchdown grab just before halftime, but he dove and was unable to haul in a well-thrown ball from Brock Purdy.
During the “ManningCast,” both Peyton and Eli Manning noted how Aiyuk might have been rusty after missing so much offseason time. Peyton emphatically stated that the dropped touchdown illustrated the importance of training camp.
“Get signed, get in training camp. There’s a reason for training camp — you need it. You need the reps,” an agitated Peyton Manning said. “Get those contracts done earlier so you can get in training camp and you don’t drop balls on opening night.”
Manning then said receivers who hold out are “catching balls at a high school field from some quarterback that’s 45 years old, my age” rather than their own quarterback.
“Get signed, get in camp, and you don’t drop the ball,” Manning said.
Peyton Manning unloads on Brandon Aiyuk sitting out camp after that dropped TD pic.twitter.com/cZEbzZS6Vj
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) September 10, 2024
Eli was laughing as his brother ranted, but Peyton seemed very serious.
Many interpreted the comments as harsh criticism of Aiyuk, and that might have been Peyton’s intention. The Hall of Fame quarterback may have also been making the point that the 49ers should have resolved the contract situation sooner. Perhaps it was a little of both.
Aiyuk signed a 4-year, $120 million extension with the Niners just before the start of the season. A surprising report on Sunday provided some new details about how the deal came together.
