It’s not a secret that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk wants to play for the Washington Commanders. His best friend is Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, a teammate of his in 2019 at Arizona State.
But one problem remains: Aiyuk is still under contract with the 49ers, even though he wants no part of them, and they’ve already said he’s played his last down in San Francisco.
Over the weekend, things took an interesting turn when we finally heard from Aiyuk. First, on Saturday, he posted two pictures of himself on Instagram. In the first photo, a shirtless Aiyuk was wearing a Commanders‘ helmet. In the second photo, he was holding a Washington football.
On Sunday, Aiyuk actually spoke, almost daring the 49ers to release him.
As expected, Aiyuk was a hot topic on Monday, with “The Insiders” on NFL Network, discussing his future.
“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like,” Ian Rapoport said. “They have his rights. He’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited by not showing up to his rehab. So they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (GM) Adam Peters was in San Francisco and all of that.”
Rapoport then focused on what he thought Washington would like to do here.
“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade (for) him. So, Tom, we’re in a situation where no one wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So until or unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”
From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The Brandon Aiyuk saga, which got weird over the weekend, shows no sign of ending. pic.twitter.com/YmNWOsB24e
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 8, 2026
There are no surprises here. While everyone thinks the 49ers have the upper hand, they don’t if Aiyuk shows up. However, with their mandatory minicamp canceled, the next mandatory event in training camp, which is over seven weeks away. If Aiyuk shows up, he can force San Francisco’s hand because GM John Lynch will not risk him practicing and suffering another injury and then be on the hook for his 2026 salary.
So, yes, San Francisco holds the upper hand until training camp, then it’s up to Aiyuk to show up. While it would make sense for him to show up, can anyone say for sure he will?
So much for a drama-free summer for the Commanders.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: NFL insider confirms obvious with Brandon Aiyuk
