We haven’t heard much from wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk amid his never-ending saga with the San Francisco 49ers, but that changed on Sunday.
Aiyuk, who has been in a standoff with the team since he had his contract guarantees voided last year, put out a cryptic video on Instagram that we can only assume was directed at the 49ers.
In the caption of the video, and in the video itself, he indirectly says the 49ers are “scared” to release him because they know he’ll succeed wherever he lands.
“This kid, he got this one toy, but he don’t really know how to use it correctly,” Aiyuk said in the video. “So somebody else about to pick it up and play with it and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, this s*** litty.’ And they’re like ‘Wait, wait, wait, hold on, that’s my toy.’”
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“Man, stop running from the bill. The bill coming… The truth is, they scared,” he added.
Brandon Aiyuk wears Commanders hat
The overwhelming expectation has been that the 49ers would release Brandon Aiyuk and he would end up with the Washington Commanders.
Aiyuk showed he is very much planning on joining Washington if he’s cut loose after he sported Commanders gear in a separate post on Instagram.
It’s quite clear Aiyuk is pulling out all the stops to work his way out of San Francisco.
You just don’t see a player under contract with one team wearing the gear of another, but that’s just par for the course for this unusual situation.
The 49ers-Brandon Aiyuk standoff
This saga has been going on since last season, when the 49ers decided to void the guarantees in Brandon Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million contract while he was rehabbing a torn ACL.
ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported that Aiyuk did not meet the requirements of the deal, leading to the Niners taking that step.
“I’ve been coaching over 20 years, and I’ve never been in a situation where a contract’s been voided,” Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “So it was extremely unusual to me… It takes a lot of things to get a contract voided.”
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Shanahan and general manager John Lynch revealed earlier this year that Aiyuk had stopped communicating with the team and showing up to the facility.
“It’s confusing for all of us,” Shanahan said. “We still don’t understand it very well.”
“I wish I knew,” Lynch said of the situation. “I can’t help you.”
Why 49ers haven’t cut Aiyuk
General manager John Lynch has made it clear that Aiyuk had played his last snap with the Niners and the expectation has been that San Francisco would cut the wideout.
“It’s safe to say he’s played his last snap with the Niners,” Lynch said in January.
However, that has not happened and instead the Niners have held on to Aiyuk
The goal in doing that is to trade him, with Shanahan stating the team is “in no rush” and is looking to get something for the veteran receiver.
“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it will resolve itself,” he said. “Hopefully — we can get something for him. I know we are in no rush to do that. You got to do what’s right for the Niners. You’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully we can get something for that and it will take care off itself I would think.”
Why Commanders, Aiyuk are ideal match
At this point, it feels inevitable that Aiyuk will be cut, and once that happens he’s almost certainly going to land with the Washington Commanders.
Reports have suggested as much, and we know that Aiyuk has a strong connection to Jayden Daniels, his former college teammate.
We also know Washington has a need at wide receiver, with the team lacking a true No. 2 opposite Terry McLaurin.
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