Are the San Francisco 49ers being lenient to Brandon Aiyuk personally? The Bay Area star wideout has been holding in for a while now and the coaching staff, Kyle Shanahan in particular, doesn’t seem to have a convincing answer. Has he gone soft, or the players don’t want to “roll out of bed and run through a wall” anymore?

Brandon Aiyuk’s claim to holding in is the fact that he’s injured. One day he had a sore back, the other, he claimed to have a sore neck. Whatever it is, Aiyuk “technically claiming” an injury means Kyle Shanahan must adhere to the protocols and let him recover. However, many in the back of their mind believe that Aiyuk’s hold-in is a façade and not an injury.

Regarding the Brandon-Aiyuk situation, the coach has had a positive outlook. He reiterated how things will eventually work out and now has come forth to restate the possible reasons behind Aiyuk’s absence. “I think it has to do with when they have injuries and stuff,” Shanahan told reporters. “I don’t sit there and kind of play that game. That’s how the league works right now. That’s how the rules are. You have a hold-in, guys usually have something wrong with them, so they can keep doing that. And so, I just coach the team.”

It is apparently clear that the WR won’t participate in practice until he has the paperwork of his new deal in hand. Aiyuk’s not wrong, though. If he’s been given an assurance, he might as well see it to the end. However, the Niners HC is more adamant in suggesting that the star WR isn’t practicing with the team due to his injuries, as claimed by Aiyuk himself.

“I’m just saying when you guys call it a hold-in, and I’m not disagreeing with you guys on that, but people say that they’re hurt,” Shanahan said. “I think B.A. has a sore back right now and it is what it is.” But there’s a pattern to Shanahan’s answers to the media and that might be apparent if we look at past conversations Shanahan had with the media.

On July 22, Shanahan was asked about Aiyuk’s hold-in, yet again. At that time, as well, his response was, “It just means his back is sore today and his neck is sore.” No matter the reasoning behind these answers, it appears that Coach Shanahan wants to protect his WR, especially amidst the speculations surrounding Aiyuk’s contract situation. Surprisingly, it seems that the coach has lightened up a bit when it comes to how he deals with players.

How Kyle Shanahan has changed over the past couple of years

Yes, he’s changed over the years but not quite. Back in the day, Shanahan had a reputation for putting his receivers in the “doghouse.” Now, he’s a bit supportive and even soft with them. Though he’s not “babying” rookie receivers like Ricky Pearsall, he’s not going out of his way to work them extra hard or give them rash treatment. Deebo Samuel during an interview with Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams” show described how the 49ers head coach has changed his ways over the years.

“Overall, Kyle hasn’t changed,” Samuel said in a conversation with Kay Adams. “The way we practice, the way he approaches players. I said he has gotten a little soft on players since my first two years. Me and [Brandon Aiyuk] used to joke around with him like, ‘Bro, you done got soft, like how you coach people.’ Because me and [Aiyuk’s] first two years, you used to go to practice and be like, ‘Bro, we got to deal with Kyle today.

Samuel added, “Now he’ll be like, ‘Hey guys, good job! But you can do this better.’ It wasn’t like that my first two years.” This is sort of a privilege that Brandon Aiyuk and Samuel did not get in their heydays. However, dealing with Shanahan’s blunt personality was Samuel and Aiyuk’s trial by fire. It was also something that honed them into Super Bowl-caliber, All-Pro receivers.