NFL Trade Rumors
49ers GM John Lynch has fielded weekly questions about the status of WR Brandon Aiyuk, who remains on the PUP list from last year’s torn ACL injury. Lynch has been upbeat all year but his tone has finally started to shift with time dwindling in the season and more reports about how the relationship between the team and player has deteriorated behind the scenes.
He was asked in a radio interview Monday whether it was realistic for Aiyuk to play this season.
“Realistic, I’m not sure,” he said via Cam Inman. “Hopeful, yeah. That’s where I’d leave that. He continues to rehab. Like I’ve always said we’re a better team when Brandon is out there. Hope that’s the case. … I wish it were more than that.”
A report from the Athletic revealed the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guarantees next year for not fulfilling his obligations with meetings and team activities.
Other reports and comments from San Francisco since then have indicated the team is still holding out hope that Aiyuk will play and the relationship can be salvaged. But the report from the Athletic was far more skeptical, noting Aiyuk didn’t contest the voiding of his guarantees which would clear the way for the 49ers to trade or release him.
Aiyuk, 27, was a one-year starter at Arizona State and earned first-team All-Pac 12 in his final season. The 49ers traded up with the Vikings to select him with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $12,531,342 rookie contract that included a $6,673,703 signing bonus. The 49ers picked up his fifth-year option last year that cost them $14,124,000 fully guaranteed for the 2024 season.
Aiyuk officially agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension that includes $76 million guaranteed after a lengthy period in which he was nearly traded to the Steelers.
In 2024, Aiyuk appeared in seven games for the 49ers and caught 23 passes for 351 yards receiving and no touchdowns.
We’ll have more on the 49ers and Aiyuk as the news is available.
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