Latest Brandon Aiyuk Trade Rumors on 49ers and NFL Teams Being in a Stalemate After NFL Draft 2026

The stalemate between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk could continue until closer to the beginning of the 2026 regular NFL season, ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Tuesday.

The Niners haven't traded Aiyuk, who last played in 2024, because "everyone in the league knows they're going to have to eventually release him," Graziano reported.

"Knowing the relationship is broken and that the Niners will almost certainly cut Aiyuk before having to pay his Week 1 salary, teams have decided they can afford to wait," Graziano reported.

"The Niners don't need to cut him until it's time for him to get paid, so they can wait, too, and see whether a team ultimately decides to send them a draft pick for Aiyuk."

The 49ers have flexibility to wait longer to move on from Aiyuk's contract after voiding his 2026 guarantees last summer following the wide receiver's reported absence from team-mandated rehab of the knee injury that ended his 2024 season.

That decision, which took place before Aiyuk spent the entirety of the 2025 season on the sideline, means his 2026 option bonus of $24.94 million is no longer guaranteed. Either a post June-1 trade or cut would result in the Niners taking on about $2 million in dead cap, per Over the Cap.

Should the Niners keep him on the roster past Sept. 1 and not exercise the bonus, however, Aiyuk's salary would climb to around $26 million next season, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Wagoner noted in March this both indicates the 49ers are unlikely to keep Aiyuk on the roster past September, and that a trade for the wide receiver would be "unlikely without the receiver first agreeing to a reworked contract with the acquiring team."

Teams interested in acquiring Aiyuk could find it even more preferable to wait until he is released by the Niners, at which point they could offer him that new contract without having to part with draft capital first.

Aiyuk recorded 1,342 receiving yards in 16 games during his last fully healthy NFL season in 2023. He has been tied to the Washington Commanders, where he has connections with general manager Adam Peters and quarterback Jayden Daniels, as a possible landing spot where he could look to make his comeback to the league this fall.