San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk raised eyebrows when he suggested in a recent video that the 49ers are “scared” to release him.
On Tuesday, Aiyuk returned to Instagram and seemed to insult his current employer.
Brandon Aiyuk: 49ers are “mad” they paid him
“And another thing,” Aiyuk said, per Grant Gordon of the NFL’s website. “You want to know why they really mad, though? They mad cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50M in eight months and then voided my guarantees for 2027. And I’m about to be on a new team in 2027.”
As Matt Barrows of The Athletic noted, Aiyuk presumably misspoke and meant 2026 instead of 2027. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner and others have pointed out that the 49ers voided the remaining guaranteed money attached to the four-year, $120M extension Aiyuk signed in the summer of 2024 last July after the 28-year-old did not participate in rehab sessions related to the serious knee injury Aiyuk suffered in October 2024. Aiyuk hasn’t played since he went down with the initial injury.
“They mad at themselves for real,” Aiyuk added about the 49ers. “They acting like they mad at me, but they stupid a– mad at themselves.”
Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers divorce not imminent?
Aiyuk and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels were teammates at Arizona State, and stories have linked Aiyuk with the Commanders throughout the offseason. According to Gordon, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport recently suggested that the 49ers don’t plan to release Aiyuk anytime soon.
“[The 49ers] have [Aiyuk’s] rights,” Rapoport said. “He’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab. So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders. …What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade for him. …We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”
On Tuesday night, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noted that Aiyuk could force the 49ers’ hands by reporting for training-camp practices in late July.
“If/when he does,” Florio explained, “the 49ers will have to decide whether to trade him, cut him (with a reduced deal), or let him practice — and risk owing him more than $26M if he suffers a season-ending injury in the building.”