Jason Burgos
If the San Francisco 49ers think their patience with Brandon Aiyuk will lead to a trade soon, a new report explains why they are fooling themselves.
Following the 2023 season, it looked like Aiyuk was going to become one of the top stars in the NFL and one of the faces of the 49ers roster. Boy, that seems like a long time ago. In the two years since his breakout season, the relationship between the team and the receiver has been all drama.
First, he was late to begin the 2024 season as he held out for a new long-term contract. He got it, but then tore his ACL seven games into that campaign. Yet, instead of getting on the field this past season, Aiyuk sat out the entirety of 2025 over an ongoing rift with the organization. It made a divorce this offseason a guarantee.
However, instead of cutting the talented but problematic receiver and moving on, general manager John Lynch is under the impression that if he is patient, he will find a team willing to give him something instead of losing Aiyuk for nothing. Well, it looks like that isn’t going to happen, and Lynch just needs to pull the trigger on a release, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
“If he’s on their team in 2026, they have to pay him $27 million. If a team traded for him, it would have to pay him $27 million. If the 49ers cut him, they don’t have to pay him that money — and the team that signs him could theoretically get him for less. Knowing the relationship is broken and that the Niners will almost certainly cut Aiyuk before having to pay his Week 1 salary, teams have decided they can afford to wait.”
– Dan Graziano
Graziano notes that the 49ers can choose to keep waiting for a few more months and hope a team gets desperate. But considering the financial cost and the draft pick price, no team is going to waste either on a trade when they can get him for far less with some patience.
If the 49ers are looking to be petty, they may wait well into the preseason to finally cut the 28-year-old.
