Training camp is nearing for the San Francisco 49ers, and they are operating as normal despite the plethora of videos Brandon Aiyuk has published in recent weeks. Aiyuk wants out of the Niners, even though he’s yet to take the steps to do so.
Aiyuk also made it clear that he wants to join the Washington Commanders once the 49ers do release him. Nonetheless, that ship might have sailed after taking shots at Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. Despite the remarks about Daniels, Aiyuk still believes that he will be playing for Washington this upcoming 2026 NFL season.
Amid all the drama from Aiyuk’s perspective, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shared the latest, revealing what some NFL executives are saying about the Aiyuk situation.
“I’ve heard a couple of times from talking to front office executives [and] they’re like, ‘Does this guy even want to play?’ And I can’t answer that,” Schefter said on the July 14 edition of “The Adam Schefter Podcast.” “Only Brandon Aiyuk can. But I can tell you that teams have raised that question because why hasn’t he forced himself off that list?
“Why isn’t he looking more actively for a team? Why isn’t he gainfully employed right now? Where was he all last year not showing up? Does he want to play? That’s a question teams have asked, and only Brandon Aiyuk himself can answer that.
“So there are some questions that will have to be resolved if he wants to play here in the coming days and weeks, but that’s certainly a major question.”
Could the Commanders Be Done With Brandon Aiyuk?
Schefter also suggested that the only team that may have considered making a move for Brandon Aiyuk, if he had gotten reinstated and forced the 49ers to make a decision, was the Commanders. However, he indicated that possibility may no longer be on the table.
“Everybody thought he was going to Washington,“ Schefter noted. “It was set up for him to go to Washington. And it certainly looks like he’s alienated Washington with his comments. We’ve got Jayden Daniels firing back on social media. Brandon Aiyuk did not help his case with the Washington Commanders.
“Aside from the fact that he’s still under contract to the 49ers, he’s on the reserve/did not report list. He would have to be reinstated [and] has to apply for reinstatement. He can apply to the NFL for reinstatement, and the 49ers would have to release him.
“They don’t want him around. If he showed up at the 49ers complex, which he said he won’t do, they’d have to release him. But the 49ers hold his rights right now, and he is not allowed to sign with another team, if another team is even willing to sign him, until he’s released from that list. Only Brandon Aiyuk can force that issue.”
In the four seasons he’s played for the 49ers, Aiyuk has recorded 294 receptions for 4,305 receiving yards and has scored 27 touchdowns in 69 games, per StatMuse. Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 season due to a severe right knee injury—a torn ACL and MCL—that he suffered in 2024.
49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk Gets Reality Check
Although Aiyuk might still believe that he’s joining the Commanders even with what he’s said about Daniels, former NFL wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh issued a reality check to the 49ers receiver.
“I’m almost certain he isn’t going to the Commanders,“ Houshmandzadeh said on the July 12 episode of “Speakeasy.“ “That isn’t going to happen. I don’t know if he’s going to the Commanders, and this was already written in stone, and they’re just trolling everybody, but he isn’t going to the Commanders.
“I don’t know why he’s doing this; I don’t know who he’s talking to [and] I don’t think he’s talking to anybody because I know a lot of people who feel like they know him, and they’re not talking to him.”
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