The San Francisco 49ers have been without wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk all year as he recovers from his major knee injury suffered in 2024, but his disappearing act from the team's facility may tell us all we need to know about his future.
Niners beat reporter Matt Barrows recently noted that Aiyuk [has been notably absent](https://x.com/Coach_Yac/status/1991889175629443558) around the facility as of late, saying, "The last month and a half had I haven’t seen him, have not seen him at practice, have not seen him in the locker room. I understand that he’s doing his rehab work in the morning now, and then just kind of skedaddles. So, I don’t know, nobody knows."
Brandon Aiyuk's time with the 49ers may be over
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Barrows went on to note that Aiyuk did have a major knee injury, so a year of rehab is not out of the ordinary. But head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have both been noncommittal on whether Aiyuk will play this season.
Tight end George Kittle [seemed to subtly acknowledge](https://ninernoise.com/george-kittle-subtle-admission-speaks-volumes-49ers-wide-receiver) the Niners are probably set with who they have on offense the rest of the season as an Aiyuk return seems more and more improbable with each passing week.
It would not be all that big of a shock if the Niners ended up trying to trade Aiyuk this offseason. They would surely be eager to offload the rest of his gluttonous contract they seemed to regret ever since he signed it.
While Aiyuk did have a great 2023 campaign and proved how effective he can be in Shanahan's offense, he has caused so many headaches with his social media behavior and antics that San Francisco may just decide that a fresh start would be best for all parties involved.
The 49ers will already have Ricky Pearsall for next season, and he could be their No. 1 wide receiver, and Lynch can either draft a No. 2 guy or maybe sign a free agent who would pair nicely with Pearsall.
Ultimately, the fact Aiyuk has been so quiet and there is not as much chatter may suggest there is some sort of understanding on both sides that the Niners don't want to bring him back only for him to get hurt again, which would make it much harder to trade him. Aiyuk himself may want out so he can go to a fresh situation where there isn't so much baggage.
It would be a sad ending for Aiyuk in San Francisco if the last time he donned a 49ers jersey was as he was writhing on the ground in pain, but things seem to be shaping up for a split.