Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the San Francisco 49ers has been under intense scrutiny following his continued public digs at the organization.
As rumors linking him to the Washington Commanders continue to do the rounds, Aiyuk’s former receivers coach, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, blasted his actions and even warned Commanders general manager Adam Peters against making a move for him.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh Warns Commanders Against Signing Brandon Aiyuk
Houshmandzadeh said the Commanders should avoid pursuing Aiyuk despite the receiver’s talent during a segment on “Speakeasy”. The former NFL Pro Bowler believes there is little reason to believe the situation would play out differently than it has in San Francisco.
“He might not step foot in an NFL stadium again if he don’t shut the [expletive] up. Like, what is he doing? Like Adam Peters, you sign Brandon Aiyuk, the Commanders should fire you the day you sign him,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Do it. Like, what are you thinking? What makes y’all different than the San Francisco 49ers? Y’all don’t think he’s going to do to you what he’s doing to them? I don’t understand this.”
Houshmandzadeh’s comments come from someone who knows Aiyuk personally and was in constant contact throughout the receiver’s lengthy contract negotiations with the 49ers.
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“When he was going through his contract situation, I was probably talking to him every other day, sometimes every day,” he revealed.
The former NFL receiver also raised concerns about how bringing Aiyuk into the locker room could affect existing relationships, specifically citing Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, a close friend and former teammate of Aiyuk’s at Arizona State.
“If I’m Jayden Daniels, BA is my boy. If it doesn’t work out, is he still going to be my boy? So do I even want to see if it will work out? Because I may ruin a relationship over sports,” Houshmandzadeh said.
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The former Cincinnati Bengals star then delivered a strong reminder to his former pupil, telling Aiyuk that the NFL moves on regardless of any individual.
“The NFL is rolling with or without you. Get your [expleteive] on the bus and enjoy the ride or get your [expletive] off. Because we rolling. This bus is going to keep going with or without you,” he further added. “Why are you doing this? And that’s what I don’t understand is, BA, why?”
Even in December last year, Houshmandzadeh was very critical of Aiyuk’s actions and had said the 2023 second-team All-Pro would regret his actions.
“Man, to me, it’s crazy,” Houshmandzadeh had told 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.”They offered you 28 [million], you didn’t want 28. You wanted 30, and you were not fine until you received it. You get it, and now you let it go, because you don’t want to show up to meetings. You don’t want to go to your rehab.”
“He’s going to get to my age and regret that. I promise you that. He’s going to regret it because you never make that money up. So if you’re a coach and you’re an organization, I want him on my team because he’s a good player, but ain’t no way in hell I’m paying him millions and millions of dollars,” he added. “I’m not giving him 20 million, and you just let 30 go. So, I wish him the best. The decisions he’s making, I don’t believe it’s a smart decision.”
The 49ers wide receiver was a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft before breaking out two years later after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023. According to PFSN’s WR Impact Metric, in 2023, he was the fourth-highest-ranked wideout in the league with an impact score of 92.7.
Times and fortunes have changed for Aiyuk, and with every one of his antics on social media, it keeps getting tougher. San Francisco also voided Aiyuk’s 2026 contract guarantees due to failure to meet contract requirements regarding his recovery process and placed him on the reserve/left squad list.