'Untradeable,' New Brandon Aiyuk Rumors Leak as WR 'Ghosted' 49ers at Times amid Injury, Contract

The market for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk might be nonexistent right now as teams around the NFL wait out the clock.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter that "Aiyuk's future is squarely in limbo."

It's in the 49ers' interest to wait until after June 1 to move the veteran pass-catcher, be it through trade or an outright release. Based on Fowler's reporting, the latter is the far likelier outcome:

"I talked to two rival executives who believe that he's simply untradeable right now; that it's going to be hard to move on because of the knee issue, didn't play at all last year. He's kind of ghosted the 49ers at times; they haven't really had a lot of communication with him. And then you've got the contract. So, if he is released at some point this summer, the 49ers have a clear runway that can save about $20 million on the cap. There would be interest at that point certainly; maybe they can salvage a trade. Probably not is my feeling right now."

Earlier this month, Dan Graziano of ESPN reported San Francisco hasn't traded Aiyuk "because everyone in the league knows they're going to have to eventually release him."

"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," the NFL insider said. "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."

Graziano added that "most people have been assuming" Aiyuk will wind up on the Washington Commanders when all is said and done.

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels declined to wade into the speculation when asked Wednesday about the idea:

Aiyuk hasn't appeared in an NFL game since October 2024, and he reportedly made himself scarce last offseason when he was recovering from a torn ACL and MCL.

Niners general manager John Lynch told reporters in January it was safe to assume Aiyuk's tenure in the Bay Area is effectively over.

Between the knee injuries and the way things have soured with his current team, some suitors might be a little hesitant to pursue the 28-year-old. He'll inevitably have to take a massive pay cut, though, and the price might be so low as to cancel out most of the risk.