The Washington Commanders appear to be the likely landing spot for the San Francisco 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk. Nonetheless, it appears that the Commanders want to wait until he’s a free agent rather than make a trade for him, take on his current contract, and give up an asset.
Moreover, Washington would likely want to bet that, with Aiyuk reuniting with his former college teammate Jayden Daniels, they can get the player back to his 2023 form. Nonetheless, if the Commanders do decide to wait, one of their former players says this patience had better pay off.
On the June 8 edition of “BMitch & Finlay,” Washington football legend Brian Mitchell sent a clear message to his former organization.
“They can release, but to be honest with you, at this point, they’re not forced to do anything because their thing is like, ‘We don’t have to get to any number right now, and we’re not helping you be happy,’” Mitchell said about the Aiyuk situation. “I understand [the 49ers’] point, but I understand [Aiyuk’s] point tremendously.
“But the whole thing is this is a team over here [in the Commanders] who I think has been trying to move in another direction. Are you going to be played in this whole deal? How long are you going to wait? Do you know if he’s still going to be able to play like he played before? Because you better make sure if you wait and then you pull him in here.”
Washington Issued Warning Over Brandon Aiyuk
Moreover, Mitchell warned the Commanders that if they are indeed interested in Aiyuk, they need to be wary that while the wideout is expressing his frustration with the Niners, he doesn’t eventually do the same to Washington at some point in the future.
“You said they got to really feel like the Niners are doing it wrong to bring him in,” Mitchell added. “But then, I like to look at both sides of things. You also better make sure if things don’t go right, he doesn’t go that way on you.
“Is that the next thing? So, yes, one thing I know and I want every fan to understand is this: if a guy can play, he’s going to get a chance, 100 percent. We have seen it in the NFL. No matter what has happened with some guys, they get opportunity after opportunity after opportunity.
“But I’ve also seen a lot of fans beg for people to come in, and they don’t live up to that hype. Then they blame the people who brought them in when they were the ones calling for him consistently, too. And I think that’s the thing that the powers that be have to be a little bit leery of. Will this same thing happen if things don’t work out?”
Commanders Get Blunt Message From 49ers Insider
Mitchell isn’t the only person, as of late, to send a clear message to the Commanders to tread cautiously if they do indeed pursue Aiyuk. If Washington still has an interest in Aiyuk, the Commanders received a blunt statement from NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.
“He’s putting it out there, at least, that he wants to play for the Washington Commanders,” Maiocco said in a June 4 video from the “49ers Talk” podcast. “The question is, does it make sense for the Commanders to go down that road?
“And even if it did, and they did sign him, I don’t think it’s a certainty that he is ready to play football, win a roster spot, and be the player he was, or anywhere near the player he was, when we last saw him playing at a high level, which was in the 2023 season. As it turns out, it was [a long time ago].”
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