John Lynch Comments on Brandon Aiyuk's Status Ahead of Training Camp Amid 49ers Rumors

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said wideout Brandon Aiyuk is still on the left squad list but declined to comment further on the ongoing saga.

"I'm personally, and we as an organization, are going to focus on the players who are here," he told reporters Saturday. "We wish him well, we wish his family well."

The stand-off between the two sides truly began after Aiyuk suffered season-ending ACL and MCL tears in Oct. 2024. The Niners then voided the guarantees in his contract in Nov. 2025 after he reportedly skipped team meetings and other team activities, claiming he wasn't fulfilling his contractual obligations. Aiyuk didn't fight that decision.

Aiyuk had signed a four-year, $120 million extension with $76 million in guarantees in Aug. 2024.

In Dec. 2025 he was placed on the reserve/left squad list and had seemingly cut off all contact with the organization.

"I'd say it officially stopped for me when the last time I tried to get ahold of him and couldn't and then tried a couple more times and still couldn't," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in January. "And then that matched everyone else that was trying to get ahold of him to come in. And eventually there's not much of an explanation because it's really hard for us and anyone else to understand, and that's why it's something I've never seen in 22 years of coaching. It's unfortunate and it's confusing because it's confusing for all of us, but it eventually becomes 'it is what it is.' ... You try as hard as you can to fix something that you don't understand, but it's not like we understand it very well still. Eventually, you understand that it's not going to change and you got to move on with your football team."

"I think it's safe to say that he's played his last snap with the Niners," Lynch added in January. "It's unfortunate. A situation that just went awry. And I will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. And I think that this was a case where that happened."

At this point Aiyuk is clearly angling to be released, publicly ripping the organization this summer with the intention on signing with the Washington Commanders instead (though he might have burned those bridges as well). But the Niners don't need to be in any rush to grant that wish, as they won't have to pay him until Week 1, though any chance of trading him now seems completely unrealistic.

Before the season begins the Niners are going to cut Aiyuk. But for now, the saga continues.