It’s midway through the NFL offseason, and the San Francisco 49ers remain firm in their stance to not give away wideout Brandon Aiyuk by releasing him. The Niners are adamant that they want to trade the player for whatever late-round pick they can get for him.
As a result, questions remain about whether a team like the Washington Commanders, which has been linked to Aiyuk through his connection with quarterback Jayden Daniels, will offer a seventh-round pick or wait out the 49ers until they are forced to release him.
On April 29, NFL insider Ian Rapoport shared the latest on Aiyuk, noting that there’s interest from Washington.
“I think the 49ers are like, just trade for him,” Rapoport said during an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “He has no guaranteed money left. He is due a big number, $27 [million] or something like that, but no guaranteed money remains because he stopped showing up for rehab last year, and they took his guaranteed money away.
“If you are a team like the Commanders, who have interest, you say just cut him. You are going to cut him anyway. The Niners are saying they will not cut him and that you have to trade for him. The Commanders respond that you should just cut him. That is where things stand. It is a standoff.”
Commanders Get Strong Message on 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk
San Francisco recently made it clear that they are open to making a deal with any team for Aiyuk.
“We are available,“ 49ers general manager John Lynch said as he held up his phone. “Give us a call.”
Lynch continued to break down the team’s willingness to trade Aiyuk.
“[Aiyuk] is an extremely talented and effective player in our league,“ Lynch said. “The situation didn’t work itself out here. That is not to say it can’t be rekindled somewhere else. We would be happy to do something with anyone if the opportunity presented itself.”
Even with the Niners standing firm with their stance on wanting to trade Aiyuk rather than releasing him, The Team 980’s Kevin Sheehan believes that there’s an 80 percent chance that the wideout will be on the Commanders roster before the start of the 2026 NFL season.
“I think [the Commanders are] going to add Brandon Aiyuk,“ Sheehan said in an April 28 video. “I think the chances are 80 percent at least that they’re going to add Brandon Aiyuk at some point. Now, are the issues specific to just one employer, or is this going to be the way he behaves with any employer? That’s something they’ll have to figure out.
Could Teams Be Getting a Red Flag on Brandon Aiyuk?
Moreover, Sheehan noted that if the Commanders don’t end up signing Aiyuk, should the 49ers finally release the wideout, that should be a red flag for any team considering signing him. With Aiyuk’s connection to Daniels, that might give any team needing wideout help pause for concern.
“What would be so interesting, so interesting, is if they finally released him and Washington didn’t sign him,“ Sheehan added. “That would be the all-time red flag for any other team considering him, because Washington, other than the 49ers, you would think, knows the player better than anybody else.
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