San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
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Could the Kansas City Chiefs be a good landing spot for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk?
The San Francisco 49ers have spent this offseason rebuilding the receiver room. Mike Evans arrived on a three-year deal. Kendrick Bourne headed to Arizona. The roster is moving forward. One situation, however, still has no clean resolution.
Brandon Aiyuk has not played for San Francisco since tearing his ACL and MCL in October 2024. He missed the entire 2025 season. The 49ers voided the guaranteed money remaining on his contract. A release or trade feels inevitable. It just has not happened yet, and even the people closest to the situation cannot fully explain why things unraveled the way they did.
On Tuesday, George Kittle appeared on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast and offered the most candid account yet of what the final stretch with Aiyuk looked like from inside the building.
49ers’ Kittle Reveals What the Final Weeks With Aiyuk Looked Like
George Kittle
GettyGeorge Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates a play with Brandon Aiyuk.
The picture Kittle painted was a quiet one. Aiyuk was around the facility early in the season — sort of. He was not in the locker room. Not in the training room. He would come in, do his rehab work in the weight room, and leave. Kittle started making the walk over there just to check in.
“I started going out to see him in the weight room because he didn’t go into the locker room or the training room anymore,” Kittle said. “He would just go to the weight room to do his rehab.”
He kept making the trip to the weight room. Kept telling Aiyuk he loved him, that he was there if he needed anything. Then a story broke publicly detailing the growing rift between Aiyuk and the organization.
After that, Kittle never saw him again.
Kittle Has No Answers, Either
What makes this situation so unusual is that nobody seems to fully understand it — including the people who were right in the middle of it. Kittle was honest about that on the podcast. He does not ask Kyle Shanahan or John Lynch about it. He leaves the front office decisions to the front office.
“It’s not something I bring up to John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan very often,” Kittle said. “I just try to be there for the players if something is going on.”
He made clear that whatever happened between Aiyuk and the organization was above his pay grade. But the not knowing clearly stuck with him.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Brandon. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Really have no idea.”
There is something telling in that. Kittle is one of the most plugged-in voices in that locker room. If he does not have answers, the picture is genuinely murky. The 49ers voided the $27 million in guaranteed money from Aiyuk’s 2026 contract after reports surfaced of missed team appointments during his rehab. Shanahan publicly denied any connection between the absences and the contract decision. The full truth likely lives somewhere in between.
What Comes Next for Aiyuk
Brandon Aiyuk
GettySan Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Adam Schefter has reported the 49ers are not in a rush to release Aiyuk, leaving open the possibility of a trade. The Washington Commanders have been mentioned as a potential landing spot. Aiyuk is still technically under contract through 2028, though with no guaranteed money left, any acquiring team would almost certainly restructure the deal or cut him before his cap hit climbs past $41 million in 2027.
He turned 28 yesterday. He has accumulated 4,305 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns across five seasons in San Francisco and put back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns together in 2022 and 2023. If he has made a full recovery from the knee injury, there will be teams willing to take the chance. It is just a question of when the 49ers pull the trigger.
One final detail from Kittle’s appearance on the podcast is worth noting. After Kittle tore his Achilles in the Wild Card round against theEagles, Aiyuk sent him a text message. Two words. “Thinking of you.”
Coach Yac 🗣
Adam Schefter on the Brandon Aiyuk situation:
“I know it says they are planning to release him, but I would like to add on that they’re not planning to release him anytime soon. They essentially have no guaranteed money left on his contract, so they can hold onto him for the
Final Word for the 49ers
Whatever broke down between Aiyuk and the front office, Kittle was never part of it. He kept showing up to the weight room until there was nobody left to show up for.
San Francisco is moving on. Aiyuk will get his shot somewhere else. The friendship survived. The partnership did not.