The Washington Commanders are reportedly willing to wait out the situation with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk before making their move when he is eventually released by the San Francisco 49ers. That's a big call to make, but general manager Adam Peters remains unwilling to give up a late-round draft pick to speed up the process.
And the latest update from a Niners team insider suggests Washington's plan is working.
Aiyuk is supposedly keen on joining the Commanders, reuniting with his former college quarterback Jayden Daniels. The team has received some positive reports, but the Niners are holding firm in the slim hope someone comes forward with a trade offer to take this problem off their hands.
Commanders' waiting game continues as 49ers can't move Brandon Aiyuk
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that no one has spoken to Aiyuk, making it extremely difficult to predict how this will end. Even so, the insider also said that San Francisco has yet to receive a serious enough offer from elsewhere to acquire the former Arizona State standout with OTAs on the immediate horizon.
“At this point, nothing has changed. He is essentially in limbo, and there has been no clear indication of his desire or readiness to return, either from a health standpoint or a mindset perspective.
"He has not spoken publicly about his situation. While there has been reported interest from the Washington Commanders, no team has made a serious enough offer to acquire his rights from the 49ers.”
Aiyuk has been in radio silence with almost everyone up to this point. He's probably speaking to Daniels, a close friend and confidant. That's muddied the waters somewhat, and it's also rubbed the Niners up the wrong way to add to their bitterness.
It's a soap opera with no clear end in sight right now. Nobody really thinks the Niners are going to find a trade partner, especially if the player doesn't want to rework his deal for anybody. At the same time, San Francisco has been stung enough to drag this on right up until Week 1 of the new season.
That would make it much more difficult for Aiyuk to hit the ground running in Washington or anywhere else. Fans want Peters to explore other targets. If the 2020 first-round pick also comes on board, that's an added bonus. But if the front-office leader refuses to entertain a trade, he cannot be left short-handed.
Nobody is coming out of this with any semblance of credit. It's been a mess for months with plenty of blame to go around. And for the Commanders, they've been stuck in the middle through no real fault of their own.
That won't change for a long time yet.
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