49ers GM Calls Brandon Aiyuk 'a Guy We'd Like to Keep Around' amid Contract Rumors

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has established himself as one of the team's most important offensive players, but he's entering the final year of his current contract.

However, 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters on Tuesday that he hopes to keep Aiyuk in the fold well beyond that, calling him "a guy we'd like to keep around for a long time."

The 25th overall pick in 2020, Aiyuk is set to make $14.1 million next season in the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. The 25-year-old has improved his numbers in each of his first four years in the NFL, so it should be no surprise that San Francisco wants to sign him to a long-term deal.

Aiyuk led the 49ers with 75 receptions and 1,342 yards last season while tying for the team lead with seven receiving touchdowns. He earned All-Pro honors for the first time in his career with a second-team selection. During San Francisco's playoff run that ended with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, Aiyuk registered nine catches for 149 yards and a touchdown across three games.

"One of my favorite guys around our building," Lynch said of Aiyuk. "The way he approaches the game, he's a competitor, he's a warrior. He plays with such a physicality [and] also with grace, the way some of the positions his body can get into. And then he's got a flare for making plays when it matters most, and he's served us very well as a franchise."

With the NFL salary cap increasing to $255.4 million this offseason, the 49ers have a stronger chance to land a new deal with Aiyuk. ESPN's Dan Graziano said during a radio appearance on Monday that San Francisco could opt to "reduce his salary cap number for this year with an extension."

Keeping Aiyuk around would bode well for the 49ers' chances of making another run to the Super Bowl.