Both the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers are reportedly aware of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's intent to reunite with quarterback Jayden Daniels. But make no mistake; the NFC West club is not going to make things easy.
This is not a well-respected veteran that the team wants to do right by. Aiyuk's behavior has led the Niners to make emotional decisions, which have been criticized as vindictive and petty. They don't care. The player is under contract, so head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch can do as they please.
However, principal owner Jed York thought there was a scenario in which Aiyuk and San Francisco's power brokers could patch things up.
49ers owner gives strong Brandon Aiyuk opinion as Commanders rumors grow
Speaking at the annual league meeting, York thought anything was still possible. If not, the Niners still see Aiyuk as a valuable asset that other teams will covet. And they plan to hold onto him for as long as possible to get something in return.
“I would like to see him play for us. We paid him for a reason. I think he’s a really good football player. I think anything is possible. Right? We want to make sure that we have as talented of a team as possible.
“B.A. is a very talented guy. Would love to be able to bring him back into the fold. If not, I think he’s a valuable asset that other people would want. And we’re going to make sure that we get value and we bring talent into our building.”
This shakes the dynamic slightly. The Niners want to extract some trade value; that much is obvious at this point. But considering Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 campaign through injury, coupled with the salary-cap hits on the final three years of his deal and his reported desire to play for the Commanders, it's not hard to see why other franchises would be extremely reluctant.
Most believe Aiyuk will be released in June, but there is nothing preventing San Francisco from waiting even longer. They were stung by the 2020 first-round pick's behavior. The club isn't without blame, but it's become a dark cloud hanging over the organization that could linger for a while yet.
Lynch, Peters, Shanahan, and Dan Quinn are all in Arizona for the league meetings. Perhaps Aiyuk will come into the conversation, and maybe the Commanders will be willing to send a 2027 seventh-round pick to San Francisco if the wideout is willing to completely rework his contract. That seems unlikely, but it would bring this drawn-out saga to an end.
And deep down, that's probably what everyone wants at this point.