After the past year’s saga between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers, it would be reasonable for any team seeking to trade for the troubled receiver and his $120 million contract to want to touch base with him.
One problem: Nobody can get in touch with him.
While the San Francisco 49ers have made it known they prefer to trade embattled WR Brandon Aiyuk, that no longer appears likely as Aiyuk and his representatives have gone MIA when it comes to fielding calls from interested teams. Getty Images
The latest turn in the drama that saw Aiyuk disappear from the team facilities midway through last season came Monday via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Despite making it clear that Aiyuk wouldn’t play again for the Niners, the team has refused to release him, preferring to attempt to recoup some value in a trade.
General manager John Lynch went so far as to pantomime picking up a phone during his post-draft press conference to publicly plea to the other 31 teams: “We’re available. Give us a call.”
Now we know at least one reason why San Francisco has had so much trouble finding a trading partner. The Niners’ front office may be ready to talk, but Aiyuk apparently isn’t, according to Schefter.
“We’re not just going to give him away, unless we feel like we can get something back for him,” the NFL insider told Pat McAfee of the thinking among 49ers executives. “The issue is that teams don’t want to trade for that contract, and they don’t want to trade for that contract when they can’t even discuss it with Brandon Aiyuk.”
Completely over the Brandon Aiyuk saga, 49ers GM John Lynch went so far as to pantomime picking up a phone during his post-draft press conference to publicly plea to the other 31 teams: “We’re available. Give us a call.” Getty Images
Aiyuk’s behavior led the 49ers to void the remaining guaranteed money on his contract, but there are still three years and $85 million left on the deal he signed before the 2024 season.
“They’ve advertised, including this weekend, at every turn that they would trade him for whatever they could get back for him,” Schefter said, adding that the Niners and others have attempted to make contact with Aiyuk. “They’ve had a hard him getting ahold of him.”
Aiyuk, Schefter said, would prefer to be released so that he can sign with the Commanders, where college teammate Jayden Daniels is the quarterback. That could explain his lack of desire to help facilitate a trade elsewhere. However, going MIA isn’t exactly out of character for the former No. 1 pick from Arizona State.
According to tight end George Kittle, Aiyuk stopped showing up to the 49ers’ facilities entirely in November, after The Athletic published its story detailing the team’s decision to void the remaining guaranteed money on his deal.
Prior to that, Aiyuk had stopped visiting the locker room, Kittle said, only going into the weight room to rehab the ACL that he tore two months after signing the four-year extension.
Aiyuk, 28, hasn’t appeared in a game since the injury and seems to have largely cut ties with the Niners, if not the NFL entirely. Coach Kyle Shanahan said in December that it had been “forever” since he had seen Aiyuk. Kittle, one of his biggest advocates during his contract negotiations, said he received one text from Aiyuk after he tore his Achilles during the playoffs, but that has been the extent of their communication.
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