49ers to part ways with Brandon Aiyuk after injury, contract issues, GM says
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San Francisco 49ers president of football operations and general manager John Lynch offered clarity on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the franchise.
“I think it’s safe to say he played his last snap with the Niners,” Lynch said at the team’s end-of-season news conference on Wednesday.
Lynch went on to acknowledge that the situation with Aiyuk had gone off the rails.
“It’s unfortunate. A situation that just went wrong. And I’ll take a hard look at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. And I think this was a case where that happened.”
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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, left, celebrates with general manager John Lynch after a game against the Los Angeles Rams on September 17, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While including Aiyuk in a future trade package is not out of the question, Lynch suggested the 49ers would be more inclined to release the 27-year-old receiver. Any move that comes next would end one of the most turbulent matchups between players and teams in the NFL.
Aiyuk’s contract dispute lasted until the 2024 training camp. The two sides finally reached an agreement on a four-year extension in August 2024, shortly before the regular season began.
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Just a few weeks later, Aiyuk and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan got into what appeared to be a lively exchange over the color of the receiver’s practice shorts. Players were reportedly instructed to wear black shorts for a Sept. 27 practice, and Aiyuk arrived in red shorts.
Before tearing the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee in October 2024, Aiyuk was not as productive as he had been in previous seasons. He finished with 374 receiving yards in seven games. Aiyuk also missed several rehab sessions last offseason.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is introduced to the crowd before a game against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium on September 9, 2024. (Darren Yamashita/Image Images)
In July 2025, the 49ers decided to void an estimated $27 million in guarantees included in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026. In December, Shanahan said he had gone a considerable amount of time without contact from Aiyuk.
“It’s been pretty easy for me. I haven’t seen him in a month,” the coach told reporters on December 15.
On Wednesday, Shanahan offered more details about the failed attempts to contact Aiyuk.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk catches the ball during warmups before a game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
“I would say this officially stopped for me the last time I tried to contact him and couldn’t, and then I tried a couple more times and still couldn’t,” she said. “And then that coincided with everyone else who was trying to reach him to get in. And ultimately, there’s not much of an explanation because it’s so hard for us and for 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 eventually it becomes ‘it is what it is.'”
Aiyuk was moved to the reserve/left team roster last month. He did not appear in any games in the regular season or the 2025 playoffs.
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The Niners will likely look to address their wide receiver room this offseason, considering the pending departure of Aiyuk and the scheduled free agency of Jauan Jennings. Ricky Pearsall remains under contract until 2026, but injuries limited him to just 10 appearances last season.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for News Digital.