Jayden Daniels made no secret about wanting to get more help this offseason. The Washington Commanders quarterback also wants to reunite with some familiar faces from his college days, which immediately sparked speculation about a power move for Brandon Aiyuk.
The wide receiver will likely be released by the San Francisco 49ers after his relationship with the franchise completely soured. Aiyuk is a close friend of Daniels, so it makes sense. Even so, he missed the entire 2025 campaign through injury, and there is just no telling how much he'd be able to contribute.
Daniels subtly revealed his feelings on Washington potentially acquiring Aiyuk. General manager Adam Peters also knows the player well from his time in San Francisco. But the signal-caller forcing the issue didn't sit well with one team analyst.
Commanders analyst thinks Jayden Daniels should leave the recruiting to Adam Peters
Kevin Sheehan of The Team 980 didn't sound particularly enamored with the way Daniels went about it. He thought leaving it to Peters would have been preferable, especially considering how Aiyuk is about to leave the Niners under an immensely dark cloud. That wasn't the case.
"This is minimal upset, and more times than not, he [Jayden Daniels] nails it in these situations. "We've got a great general manager, I'll let him worry about those things." Rather than pushing for a guy who literally had Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch fuming and puzzled to explain any of the behavior. Two pretty highly qualified, respected voices in the game."Kevin Sheehan
Kevin wasn't a big fan of Jayden Daniels talking in the media about presumably bringing Brandon Aiyuk to the Commanders pic.twitter.com/xZqi1fArp9
— The Team 980 (@team980) February 9, 2026
As Sheehan said, it's a minimal complaint. Peters no doubt values Daniels' opinion, especially as the former LSU star has become more vocal about the incoming offensive schematics under new coordinator David Blough. At the same time, he won't let his signal-caller dictate incoming signings. If there are major concerns about the clear red flags around Aiyuk, he won't hesitate to go in a different direction.
All signs point to the Commanders doing their due diligence on Aiyuk, if nothing else. There are two sides to every story, but significant investigations are needed. And who knows, perhaps his erratic behavior was all by design to engineer a reunion with Daniels in Washington.
If Aiyuk could get back to anything like his old form with Daniels leading the charge, this would be an exceptional addition opposite Terry McLaurin. He was considered among the league's most exciting young receivers before getting hurt. Recent developments have tarnished his reputation, but he'll get another chance somewhere.
Daniels clearly wants that to be in Washington. And he's quietly put the pressure on Peters to make this dream a reality.