A video of Brandon Aiyuk, in a black hoodie and black pants, strolling across the San Francisco 49ers practice field this week and exchanging pleasantries with coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch was broken down like it was part of an episode of “CSI.”
Did that mean everything was good with Aiyuk and the 49ers? That a new contract was coming? More than likely, it was just a normal handshake between men who have a lot of history together.
But there’s a lot at stake for the 49ers over the next month when it comes to contract standoffs, and they’re not alone.
There are a few “hold-ins” going on around the NFL. The old school holdout, the most famous of which might have been Emmitt Smith missing the first two games of the Dallas Cowboys’ 1993 season, is mostly a thing of the past. Players usually don’t sit at home and …