The Washington Commanders are reportedly interested in bringing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to the franchise once his saga with the San Francisco 49ers finally ends. That's the worst-kept secret in football right now, and everyone involved knows it.
Aiyuk wants to reunite with quarterback Jayden Daniels. The dynamic signal-caller has been pushing for the move behind the scenes, and general manager Adam Peters spoke highly of the player during his media availability at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. He knows him well, but everything is up in the air as the Niners hold out for a trade offer.
One team analyst believes Aiyuk will end up in Washington before Week 1 rolls around. But he also thought there were specific points the Commanders cannot deviate from when they make an approach.
Kevin Sheehan of The Team 980 didn't think the Commanders should speed up the process by trading for Aiyuk. The contract alone makes the scenario almost impossible to justify, but if Washington can get him on a one-year deal with a modest salary, that becomes more feasible.
"I think Brandon Aiyuk is going to be part of this attack by the time we get to the regular season opener. It'd be nice to figure out how we could get him sooner rather than later, but not via a trade. No one should trade for his current contract.
"The contract needs to be ripped up, and it should be a one-year, prove-it deal with not veteran minimum guaranteed, because someone is going to give him much more than the veteran minimum. But it shouldn't exceed seven, eight, nine million dollars. And the rest of it is a total prove-it deal."
Aiyuk shouldn't be expecting big money when he signs. He's missed a lot of football since suffering a serious knee injury midway through the 2024 season. If he stays healthy and performs well in this scenario, the Commanders could then offer him a longer-term deal.
Until then, they would be foolish to offer anything else.
The former Arizona State standout is reportedly healthy and ready to make up for some lost time. Aiyuk is waiting in silence, reportedly unwilling to speak with interested teams about renegotiating his contract. Most believe this is an attempt to engineer a move to the Commanders, but San Francisco is not going to make it easy.
It's a game of chicken, and there is skepticism about who might blink first. The Niners could drag this out for months, so the Commanders need to explore other options. And if Aiyuk also joins at some stage, that'll be an added bonus.
But until something gets rubber-stamped one way or another, all the Commanders can do is wait.
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