Brandon Aiyuk throws shade at 49ers amid trade speculation

Aiyuk’s remarks were seemingly a response to a report that San Francisco had discussions with the Washington Commanders about trading the 26-year-old wideout before the draft in April.

The Aiyuk-to-Washington speculation picked up steam nearly two weeks ago when the former first-round pick posted a video on his TikTok page of himself telling Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, a former teammate of his from Arizona State, that the 49ers didn’t want him anymore.

The 49ers and Aiyuk have been engaged in a very public contract negotiation since the Super Bowl ended in February. The team reportedly offered him a deal worth $26 million per season, but he rejected it in hopes of getting a contract similar to the four-year, $120M deal ($30M per year) the Detroit Lions gave Amon-Ra St. Brown a few weeks ago.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported over the weekend that if the 49ers aren’t willing to give Aiyuk the contract he wants that other teams will.

“They had some trade opportunities around the draft, and I think there are other teams that are willing to pay him what he wants,” Fowler recently said on ESPN’s “This is Football.” “I do believe that. So maybe not a first-round pick in a trade, but I think they would do it under certain circumstances.”