49ers' Brandon Aiyuk gets more bad news about Commanders, NFL future

Recent updates have suggested that a Washington Commanders team that was interested in wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk may no longer be as keen on acquiring him. Aiyuk sparked concerns among members of the NFL community via comments he has made in videos shared online over the past month or so. 

According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US, the Commanders aren't the only club having second thoughts about Aiyuk's future.

Commanders, NFL teams "uneasy" about taking a chance on Brandon Aiyuk?

On Wednesday, La Canfora wrote that Aiyuk's "constant social media posts and bizarre behavior" have made "NFL executives even more uneasy about signing him, even to a veteran-minimum deal." 

Commanders general manager Adam Peters was working for the 49ers when they selected Aiyuk during the 2020 NFL Draft. Aiyuk is also friends with Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, the receiver's teammate at Arizona State.

The 49ers are expected to release Aiyuk at some point this summer, and a Tuesday update shared that the Commanders were previously interested in Aiyuk "to the extent that they would [have considered] a one-year, highly incentivized deal if and when the San Francisco 49ers ever release him." It sounds like such interest may no longer exist. 

"The fact that the Commanders are now distancing themselves from Aiyuk via the media at a time when he is speaking more and more about his desire to come to Washington is not going unnoticed," La Canfora said. "Even once the 49ers do officially move on from him, the expectation at this point is that he would have to display a period of time without incident before another team would sign him, and it might require a degree of desperation due to training camp injuries for it to come to pass, if it comes to pass." 

NFL executive makes big Brandon Aiyuk decision

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120M contract extension in the summer of 2024. He hasn't played in an NFL game since he suffered a serious knee injury in October of that year, and the 49ers have since voided the remaining guaranteed money attached to his contract because he didn't participate in rehab sessions related to his injury.

La Canfora recently spoke with "a top executive from a team that has continued to pursue the receiver market" ahead of training camp. That executive said he "couldn’t bring [Aiyuk] into my locker room with my quarterback." 

It remains to be seen if Peters will agree with such assessments in the event that Aiyuk is released by the 49ers before preseason games get underway.