Commanders Acknowledge Social Media Activity When Scouting Potential Players

During the first news conference of training camp, Adam Peters was asked how social media plays a role in searching for talent to add to the roster. Since the start of the offseason, Brandon Aiyuk has been campaigning on social media for his release from the San Francisco 49ers so he can join the Commanders and reunite with former college teammate Jayden Daniels.

"We look at everything, and we want to make sure it's the right player to be in our locker room and our bloodstream," Peters said. "We look at that stuff, it's not always the first thing we look at ... but it's not usually a huge part of it. Usually."

After recently announcing that he purchased a home in Loudoun County, Virginia, the same county as the Commanders' training grounds, Aiyuk has been relentless in his efforts online to play in Washington. Despite his rights still being held by the 49ers, there have been no indications pointing toward his release, which would make him a free agent.

"Brandon is on a left-squad designation," 49ers general manager John Lynch said. "As such, he's not on our 90-man roster. I, personally, and we as an organization, are going to focus on the players who are here. I don't have anything to add to that. We wish him well. We wish his family well."

There are more polite ways to make your interests known

Aiyuk is not the only wide receiver to publicly show interest in the Commanders. Stefon Diggs, who is from the region and grew up rooting for Washington, told reporters in May that it's a place he's fond of and would enjoy playing in.

"I'm familiar with the city and familiar with the people, so we're going to see down the pipe over these next couple of months what looks good and what makes sense," Diggs said. "I definitely wanna shed some light on them and might go check them out for a little bit, you know. It's love. It's home town, so it makes sense."

With depth at wide receiver still an area of concern for Washington, adding a veteran like Diggs, who just came off another 1,000-yard season, would be a logical decision. Peters and coach Dan Quinn seem content with the group they have in place now, but there's no reason they can't add more pieces if the situation arises.