In January, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters it was “safe to say” that 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”
Aiyuk, 27, last played on Oct. 20, 2024, when he tore his ACL and MCL against Kansas City. Last November, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported that the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s 2026 guarantees, in part, because of “Aiyuk’s failure to show up for rehab appointments during the offseason.”
The NFL’s new league year officially began on Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST, which means the 49ers can release Aiyuk at any time and, according to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner,” are “expected to use” a post-June 1 designation. “Washington is the most likely landing spot for Aiyuk, probably on a one-year prove-it deal,” Wagoner wrote.
Former Pro Bowl wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh, who has worked as Aiyuk’s personal receiving coach, offered advice to Washington or any NFL team considering signing Aiyuk.
“I know him very well, but I haven’t spoken with him in a while,” Houshmandzadeh said on Speakeasy. “Yes, [teams] should want him, but you’ve got to be careful. I like B.A., but I said this last week about Stefon Diggs — and this normally only happens when a player starts to get older. B.A. is still really young, fast, quick, explosive. But what he did last year is kind of crazy.”
Houshmandzadeh continued:
“You’ve got all this guaranteed money. You ain’t showing up. You’re getting fined, and you basically forego — what was it? Over $30 million? If you’re a team, and you give him a good contract, is this what you’re going to get? Because this is what he has shown us. He signed his deal with the Niners. Bad luck. He gets hurt. Don’t want that. But it’s how he handled everything after that. Yes, he’s going to get signed. But if you’re a team, you’ve got to structure that contract the right way. You’ve got to make sure that you protect yourself because of what he’s shown you to be.
You know John Lynch and [49ers head coach] Kyle Shanahan are talking to their people across the NFL. Telling them everything that went down and how it occurred. So, yes, I would want him on my team. I would. But it’s got to be at the right price. I’ve got to make sure financially that we are protected as a team, an organization, because I’ve just never seen anybody do this at so young of an age. He’s got so many years ahead of him. I’ve never seen this.”
The 49ers drafted Aiyuk at No. 25 overall out of Arizona State in the 2020 NFL Draft. He developed into the team’s clear No. 1 X receiver. He posted 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns on 78 catches in 2022, followed by a career-best 1,342 yards and seven interceptions on 75 catches in 2023.
Aiyuk and the 49ers had a contentious contract negotiation during the 2024 offseason. In August 2024, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that an Aiyuk trade deal was in place between the 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Two weeks later, the Niners inked Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension. Aiyuk played seven games on that extension before suffering his devastating knee injury and subsequently ghosting the team.
Now, according to Wagoner, San Francisco is staring at $13.325 million in 2026 dead cap money and a $21.247 million dead cap hit in 2027. However, they’ll save “significant amounts in future years by getting off the books.” Time will tell whether another team is interested in getting into the Aiyuk business.
