The San Francisco 49ers made a stunning decision last season when they restructured the contract of Brandon Aiyuk to effectively cement that the former $120 million star wide receiver would be off the team by 2026.
It's been widely reported that Aiyuk, the former first-round pick by the 49ers, is not going to be staying in San Francisco any longer. Those reports are well known, and it's essentially been decided that Aiyuk is gone.
However, as Alber Breer of Sports Illustrated notes, the method of the 49ers cutting ties with Aiyuk is still not known. It's been months since Aiyuk's future has effectively been decided, and yet, how he's moved on from it is still unknown.
49ers' plan to cut ties with Aiyuk is still unknown
"The only thing I feel comfortable saying is that he won't be a 49er," Breer writes. "... So I'd say there's a remote, remote chance of a trade, with the likelihood remaining that he'll be cut, because teams that might be interested in bringing him in know the Niners would eventually be forced to let him go..."
While the 49ers and Aiyuk's split has been well-reported on at this point, the method to that split is up in the air.
San Francisco is going to try to find a trade partner for Aiyuk, no matter how unlikely it is and how long they have to wait to cut ties with Aiyuk.
The Washington Commanders have been linked to Aiyuk, but trading for the WR is a whole lot different than simply signing him in free agency after he's cut.
More: 49ers searching for possible Brandon Aiyuk trade instead of a simple release
Most likely, the 49ers will end up cutting Aiyuk instead of finding a trade, as there likely aren't many teams willing to spend capital on Aiyuk, who has an uncertain injury recovery after missing all of 2025, and some big question marks.
Signing him in free agency for very little is a big difference, and likely what the teams interested in Aiyuk will try to do. Even if they miss out on him, it's not such a disastrous loss that it would be a missed opportunity for another team to sign him.
The 49ers can play a waiting game in the meantime, as there's zero rush for them to cut Aiyuk as they pursue a trade. Unless a trade happens, Aiyuk is more likely to finally move on from the 49ers after the NFL Draft, once rosters are more set-in-stone.
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