Brandon Aiyuk has kept the pressure on the San Francisco 49ers, saying in a YouTube video that his former agent helped drive the conflict and that team general manager John Lynch recently showed up at his home.
The wide receiver also made clear he does not expect a repair in the relationship. In the 3½-minute video, Aiyuk said he will not return to the 49ers’ facility, with one exception tied to the team’s Oct. 19 game against the Washington Commanders.
Aiyuk’s message to San Francisco
“We is not cool,” Aiyuk said. “We won’t be cool, and I will never be stepping in that building” outside of Oct. 19, when the 49ers host the Commanders on Monday Night Football.
He has repeatedly linked his desire to leave San Francisco with a move to Washington, where he wants to play alongside quarterback and former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels. Aiyuk said in an Instagram video on Wednesday that he would sign with the Commanders “tomorrow” if the 49ers released him.
Questions around his representation
Aiyuk pointed to Ryan Williams, his former agent, as a source of the friction with the 49ers. He said Williams is friends with Lynch and has a business relationship with him, and he added in an Instagram story on Friday that he fired Williams in November.
Despite that statement, Williams is still listed as Aiyuk’s agent on the NFLPA agent directory. Aiyuk also said there is “nobody that will be speaking for me.”
What the 49ers are facing next
In the same video, Aiyuk claimed Lynch recently came to his house and was there, in part, to apologize for the actions of coach Kyle Shanahan. He offered no evidence that the visit happened and said the situation was not safe for him or his wife.
ESPN reported that the Commanders cannot publicly express interest in Aiyuk while he remains under contract with San Francisco, because doing so would violate NFL tampering rules. It is still unclear whether Washington would want to pursue him if the 49ers ever made him available.
The 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million extension in August 2024, but the relationship has deteriorated for nearly a year. San Francisco voided the remaining guaranteed money in his contract last July after he did not participate in rehab sessions for the torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee, and the team later placed him on the reserve/left team list in December after he stopped showing up at the facility.
Veterans are scheduled to report to training camp on July 25, and the 49ers may wait until then to decide on Aiyuk’s status.
