George Kittle sheds light on Brandon Aiyuk-49ers contract standoff - "That's how business is done"
The San Francisco 49ers' George Kittle is one of the best tight ends in today's NFL. He is also one of the league's most quotable players, not being afraid to speak his mind.
On Wednesday, he visited Rich Eisen's show to discuss various topics, chief among them being Brandon Aiyuk's contract standoff. He said (starts at 0:09):
"If you look at my career being a 49er, and where like most of the contracts have gone, I didn't get signed until like the second week of training camp. Deebo was pretty late. Bosa was the first week of the season. I was like, that's just how business is done out there.
"So I'm gonna assume that Aiyuk's gonna be on our team by the time the season starts."
Meanwhile, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hinted on The Insiders that both sides were running out of time on an extension, especially with Aiyuk having made gestures of wanting to be traded to the Washington Commanders.
George Kittle discusses Brock Purdy's development into an elite quarterback
In the same podcast appearance, George Kittle was asked about his teammate Brock Purdy's emergence as one of the league's most exciting quarterbacks.
The former Iowa State Cyclone has had one of the most meteoric rises in NFL history, going from Mr. Irrelevant (the last draft pick) in 2022 to a Super Bowl contender in just one and a half seasons. When asked to assess his personality, the five-time Pro Bowler said (5:33 to begin):
"He's consistent at his job every single day. He shows up. He has this intensity to him that I don't think people see very often unless you're in the building with them, like he just wants to be really good."
He continued (at 6:01):
"I think when you're the quaterback for the San Francisco 49ers, there's always going to be questions because you're getting compared to Steve Young and Joe Montana constantly. And so for Brock, it's just like, 'Hey, go be your best self every single day that you've been doing for the last two years.'"
The 49ers' practice camp resumes on July 16 with rookie camp. Veterans like George Kittle will begin reporting a week later.