Peyton Manning blasts Brandon Aiyuk as 49ers WR drops TD - "Get those contract done earlier so we can get in training camp"

Peyton Manning had some choice words for Brandon Aiyuk and his agent after the wide receiver dropped a perfect touchdown pass from Brock Purdy. It was during the two-minute warning in the first half and the Hall-of-Fame quarterback was watching along on ManningCast with brother Eli Manning and former Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick.

The 49ers quarterback threw a pass toward the back of the endzone at the right-hand corner on a second down. It was perfectly placed beyond the defender, and Brandon Aiyuk needed to stretch himself and dive a bit to make a standard catch. It should have been reeled in but it sailed through his hands leading to an incompletion. It is a reception one would have expected the wide receiver to make last season.

And Peyton Manning was sure why he dropped the ball. He blamed the contract negotiations that carried on throughout the offseason before being resolved right before the 2024 regular season began. That led to Brandon Aiyuk missing the entirety of the training camp. And Peyton Manning had some choice words for the 49ers players, advising,

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"Get signed. Get in training camp. There's a reason for training camp. You need it. You need the reps. Get those contracts done earlier so we can get in training camp [so that] we don't drop balls on opening night."

Peyton Manning says outside practice not the same for Brandon Aiyuk

Peyton Manning added that Brandon Aiyuk's fitness might have allowed him to come back and play immediately, even though he was not part of the training camp. But any practice that he did on his own would have been made with a high school quarterback or a veteran, who might have been retired, as the Hall-of-Famer noted. That is not the same as catching a pass from a current NFL player like Brock Purdy, who is going to be throwing much tighter and faster spirals.

Unfortunately, missing training camp and games might be the only leverage that players have to get the contracts they are craving under the current collective agreement. If he had signed earlier, Brandon Aiyuk might have missed the market reset that came with Justin Jefferson's contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

But Peyton Manning's words were perhaps equally aimed toward the 49ers. Ultimately, neither the wide receiver nor the franchise should have let the saga drag on as long as it did. If they had solved this earlier, there is a chance that the player might not have been as rusty as he looked when he dropped the catch.

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