Medically cleared Aiyuk not at 49ers practice, faces fines - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In the hour before the San Francisco 49ers began their Wednesday afternoon practice, coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch expressed hope that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk would participate.

The reason for that unrewarded hope? A clean bill of health for Aiyuk from 49ers team doctors.

But during the roughly 30-minute window in which media is allowed to watch practice, Aiyuk was nowhere to be seen. That brings Aiyuk and the Niners to the latest and perhaps most volatile point in this drawn-out contract dispute.

Before Wednesday, Aiyuk had been considered a «hold in» because he reported to training camp on time and has been attending meetings with the rest of the team. At the time Aiyuk reported, Shanahan said the wideout was dealing with back and neck soreness. Those injuries allowed Aiyuk to avoid practice while not accruing fines of $40,000 per day.

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After the Niners trimmed their roster to 53 players Tuesday, Aiyuk was cleared by medical staff, according to Shanahan. That clearance was the driving force behind Shanahan saying he hoped Aiyuk would practice Wednesday, with Lynch later adding that Aiyuk practicing was «the expectation.»

Since Aiyuk, whom Lynch said was in the team facility earlier Wednesday, was not at practice, the Niners now have the option to enforce disciplinary action against the receiver. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, once the league switches out of training camp and into regular-season mode, teams can begin