Brandon

Aiyuk

The 49ers are currently sitting on Aiyuk’s contract, which now has all of its future guarantees voided. They have reportedly been looking for a trade partner, though there’s no chance a team trades for a player whom the 49ers GM John Lynch himself has said is done with the team. Aiyuk is currently on the reserve/left squad list, meaning the 49ers don’t have to pay him anything right now. He could force their hand by showing up to OTAs. In Barrows’ cutting words, “Maybe Aiyuk’s most effective move is something he failed to do last season — show up for work.” Assuming he does that, the 49ers will release him, at which point he would be likely to sign with the Commanders, if previous reports are to be believed.

The 49ers have already made it abundantly clear that Aiyuk will not be playing for them moving forward after a saga that included the team removing his guaranteed money for not showing up to rehab sessions. Rapoport added that the Commanders have had continued interest in the veteran wide receiver but have been hesitant to discuss trade talks under the assumption that the 49ers will be releasing Aiyuk, bringing us to the stalemate at hand. Either way, Rapoport believes Aiyuk will be playing the 2027 season in Washington.

This comes moments after the team selected wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling with the No. 33 overall pick in the second round and reinforces previous reports that the team could look to hold onto the beleaguered receiver in the hopes of getting something in return. Aiyuk last took the field in 2024 and had one of the more head-scratching seasons in recent memory last year, seemingly doing his best to sour any relations with the organization. It remains to be seen if the franchise will be able to extract any value from a former cornerstone, but it at least appears as if they plan to continue to give it the old college try.

Lynch said he doesn’t think it’s a “high probability” that Aiyuk is traded at some time during this weekend’s draft, but didn’t rule out the possibility. Whether they admit it or not, the Niners are positioned to keep Aiyuk on the roster until September 1st, when they would first be required to pay him if he is still on the roster. The split between Aiyuk and the 49ers sounds like there are people on both sides who are annoyed with the situation, but the Niners hold all of the cards after voiding the remaining guaranteed money on his deal while keeping him under contract after he reportedly stopped coming into the facility for his rehab treatments last season. If the Niners can find a team interested in dealing even a late Day 3 pick for Aiyuk, then it’s possible he will be on the move sooner than later, but it seems like they’re willing to wait as long as they can to extract whatever value he may have left before letting him go to join another team.

In other words, if an NFL team wants Aiyuk to learn their system this offseason, they can trade for him. “Why would the 49ers do a team that they compete with a favor by handing Aiyuk over for free now? Perhaps they’ll release him after the draft if they can’t find a suitor by then. But San Francisco can wait much longer if it wants to,” write the pair of Athletic 49ers beat writers. From the outside, it sure seems like a way to punish a player that essentially quit on the team last season as well. 49ers owner Jed York said that he would like to see Aiyuk play for the 49ers on Monday, but both beats note “York was speaking more in general terms about Aiyuk’s talent, perhaps not realizing Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have shown zero interest in bringing Aiyuk back. Furthermore, there is no space for him anymore in the budget.”

This is a new one. As the Niners continue to delay what feels like the inevitable trade/release of Aiyuk, York said he would still prefer to see the 2023 Second-team All-Pro return to the team he’s been in a stalemate with since last season. The 49ers voided what guaranteed money was left on Aiyuk’s deal last season after he failed to meet contractual obligations, after he reportedly stopped coming to the team’s facilities to rehab the torn ACL he suffered the previous season. Aiyuk hasn’t played a down of football since going down in Week 7 of 2024 and was held to fewer than 50 yards in six of the seven games he appeared in that season. What remains one of the more puzzling sagas in the league gets even more interesting now that York has seemingly endorsed the idea of Aiyuk returning should he be interested in doing so. One thing is certain: this is not the last time we will talk about Aiyuk and his future with the 49ers.

Shanahan was speaking in the context of a trade for the embattled receiver at league meetings, but the delayed decision to release him suggests the team is in no rush to get him off its roster. Shanahan said at the league meetings that the team hopes to find a way to trade Aiyuk for something in return, but the much-publicized divorce between the two sides makes that highly unlikely. Aiyuk’s future contract guarantees were voided by the 49ers in January after he failed to meet certain contractual obligations this past season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in 2024. It’s only a matter of time before the two sides officially split, but with the team truly in no rush to do something, we won’t hold our breath waiting for something to get done.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk obviously comes to mind, and multiple team sources tell Keim that the Commanders are “well aware” of Aiyuk’s “desire” to be reunited with his former college quarterback, Jayden Daniels, but Keim believes the Commanders are unlikely to trade for him. If Aiyuk were to be released, Keim thinks only a one-year, prove-it deal would be offered. Keim follows the Aiyuk section by saying the Commanders could also draft a receiver. Perhaps the team is negotiating through the media. Perhaps not. Hopefully, things will become clearer in the coming weeks and months. Keim adds that the front office would have pursued Colts WR Alec Pierce had he not re-signed with Indianapolis and, per Keim, Pierce “absolutely” would have signed with Washington in that scenario. The Commanders also pursued former Packers WR Romeo Doubs but lost out to the Patriots.

This is just a housekeeping item. We aren’t breaking any news here. It’s been apparent since the new league year began that the 49ers are going to try to get something for their former star, rather than simply releasing him. There is no guaranteed money left in the contract, so the team can hold him for now and try to trade him away for draft picks, perhaps during the 2026 NFL Draft, or any other desired compensation. If a draft-day trade fails to materialize, things might get tricky for the 49ers’ front office once June rolls around, at which point the team might need to make a decision about releasing him as a post-June 1 cut. Schefter adds that the Commanders “make a lot of sense” as a destination — if you weren’t paying attention, the worst-kept secret in football is that former 49ers GM Adam Peters will bring another 49ers star receiver to Washington once given the chance.

Aiyuk has been on the outs with the team for at least a year now and was never going to return to San Francisco in 2026. Wagoner said the Commanders remain the favorite to land Aiyuk after his release, expected to be a post-June 1 designation. Aiyuk, 27, will cost the Niners around $13.3 million in dead money this year and $21.7 million in 2027. If he signs with Washington, the deal will surely be of the prove-it variety.