Kyle Shanahan Discusses Brandon Aiyuk's Absence, 49ers 'Haven't Seen Him in Forever'

The San Francisco 49ers placing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list would seemingly be a distraction to the team, but head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed it has been quite the opposite.

Shanahan said the team has been used to Aiyuk being gone at this point.

"We haven't seen him in forever. That's the decision that they make," he told reporters. "It's been pretty simple for me, I mean, I haven't seen him in a month, same with our team. Hasn't been an issue with our team at all. We've been plugging away. No big deal. It's just something we've been used to for a while."

Aiyuk appeared on his way to a solid career after recording back-to-back seasons with 1,000 or more yards in 2022 and 2023, but a torn ACL and MCL during the 2024 campaign set things back.

Before that, Aiyuk and the Niners had a contract standoff—that included trade talks—before he eventually signed a four-year, $120 million extension during the 2024 offseason.

Aiyuk obviously hasn't been on the field at all this season, but he apparently has been too present off the field, either. The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Michael Silver reported in November that he had "failed to attend meetings and declined to participate in other team activities," which led to the team voiding Aiyuk's guaranteed money for next season.

Aiyuk could have asked the NFL Players Association to file a grievance on his behalf to regain his future money, but he declined to do so, according to Russini and Silver. His contract had a $24.9 million option bonus for 2026 that was fully guaranteed on April 1, 2025, a $1.2 million base salary and a $750,000 roster bonus for each game he was active next season.

After Aiyuk essentially gave up that money, things culminated last week when the team moved him to the reserve/left squad list. Now, it appears Aiyuk will hit free agency this offseason.

While being without a talented receiver like Aiyuk is a blow to the Niners, they've managed just fine without him, going 10-4 and currently sitting in a position to make the playoffs.