Early in free agency, a 49ers plan to release Brandon Aiyuk surfaced. Five-plus weeks later, the disgruntled former All-Pro stays on the team. Aiyuk, who missed all of last season resulting from injury, saw the 49ers take the rare step to void future guarantees on his deal resulting from his rehab approach. The wide receiver and the team are headed for a divorce, nevertheless it could take for much longer to finalize than expected.
John Lynch confirmed this week Aiyuk generated trade discussions on the league meetings, however the Tenth-year GM doesn’t expect (per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch) anything to occur here through the draft. The updated structure of Aiyuk’s contract gives San Francisco a while, and the team is assuredly not desirous to do the receiver any favors based on how things have gone since his extension was finalized.
As our Ben Levine noted recently, an early-September option bonus likely serves as the purpose of no return for the 49ers with Aiyuk. The WR is due an almost $25MM bonus that, if picked up, can be prorated through 2030. If it isn’t exercised, then it might be owed abruptly. That may drive Aiyuk’s 2026 price to an untenable $26MM. While a future through which the 49ers mend fences with Aiyuk and retain him has been floated (by CEO Jed York), it stays highly unlikely. In spite of everything, Lynch said this relationship was essentially over earlier this yr.
The September bonus date creates a while for the 49ers to dangle Aiyuk in trades, and Casino.com’s Jason La Canfora notes the team may even prefer stringing this process out into the summer before moving on. This might give Aiyuk less time to acclimate in a brand new offense, though that will not be precisely the 49ers’ chief concern. Kyle Shanahan said as much on the league meetings.
“You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and also you’re not attempting to hook up some other team as fast as you probably can,” Shanahan said, via Branch.
Finding a team to tackle this contract, after Aiyuk has missed 1 1/2 seasons and have become a distraction for his current club, won’t be easy. Nonguaranteed base salaries of $27.27MM (2027) and $29.15MM (’28) are in place. An injury to a key receiver elsewhere may lead a team to contemplate parting with lower-level draft assets for Aiyuk, and a franchise not confident in its ability to lure the previous first-round pick in free agency could at all times swing a deal.
Aiyuk has been closely tied to the Commanders, where he would have considered stepping into 2024 had the team — one built around ex-Aiyuk Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels — shown interest during that summer’s trade derby. It might be unlikely Washington would trade for Aiyuk, with the team likely confident it might win a recruiting battle. Lynch could also be hoping one other team will attempt to beat the Commanders to the punch with a trade.
The 49ers have added Mike Evans and Christian Kirk to a roster that features 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall. The team will not be expected to re-sign Jauan Jennings, whose price point has not aligned with teams’ valuations, but one other receiver move could definitely start during this week’s draft. Considering the ages of Evans and Kirk and the injury file Pearsall is constructing, the 49ers could have to make one other investment at WR early within the draft. Aiyuk would theoretically be an option to enrich Pearsall and the opposite veterans, but that bridge is most probably burned. It looks just like the seventh-year WR might want to wait before finding a brand new destination.