On Nov. 6, Brandon Aiyuk met with the San Francisco 49ers as the next step in his return to the NFL. Aiyuk had been on the Niners’ reserved/left squad list, but after hiring Drew Rosenhaus as his agent, the wideout began the process of returning to the league.
With that meeting having come and gone, The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones shared the latest on Aiyuk and what the next steps are for the wideout to get back out on the field. Despite taking the step and meeting with the Niners, Aiyuk still has some ways to go to be playing football again.
“Multiple sources tell me it will take days, weeks or even months for the Brandon Aiyuk saga to reach a conclusion,” Jones wrote in a Nov. 7 article. “That doesn’t mean Aiyuk won’t be eligible to sign with a team as soon as he wants.
“That well may be the case, if some team is willing to assess and submit to the risk. But there are contractual questions that don’t have a clear answer for either side.”
One major hurdle that the two parties need to overcome before they can likely cut ties is the financial side. Will the 49ers be vindictive and look to recoup all the money they possibly can from Aiyuk?
“The 49ers have already voided his guarantees, and he never sought them, but will the Niners wind up recouping all $13 million they seek?” Jones added. “How ticked off are they? On what principles do the team and new agent Drew Rosenhaus want to stand, and what precedents are they willing to create?”
What Brandon Aiyuk Has to Show Other NFL Teams
While the Aiyuk situation is still in its early stages of being solved and him putting this chapter with the 49ers in the rearview mirror, that doesn’t mean teams will be lining up to sign him should he eventually become a free agent.
Jones notes that Aiyuk will need to start giving teams reasons that he won’t be a toxic element in their dressing room, especially if a team with playoff or even championship aspirations were to have an interest in him.
“As one source put it, three major things need to take place if Aiyuk is going to play again this season: He needs to be on his best behavior when meeting with the 49ers,” Jones wrote. “The 49ers want to clean their hands of this mess rather quickly (It appears they do). He has to be worth it for an acquiring team. That means he must be healthy and trustworthy.
“If Aiyuk is on good behavior these next few days/weeks, few would be surprised if he had a workout for a team this season. Teams are always in the market for talented pass catchers, and teams will grant more leniency at this position when it comes to behavior.”
No Respectable GM Should Want 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk
Meanwhile, The Volume’s John Middlekauff is finding it hard to believe any general manager is willing to take a risk on Aiyuk.
“I can’t see how any general manager worth their salt would take the risk of bringing this guy into their locker room and poisoning it, because that’s what, to me, this guy has proven to be,” Middlekauff said in a Nov. 5 video from “3 & OUT with John Middlekauff.”
“He still has outstanding warrants in the Bay Area for driving around 90 miles an hour in 25-mile-an-hour zones. This guy’s a clown. I don’t think there would be anything this guy could tell me that would make me feel confident and comfortable that he wouldn’t do something stupid.”
49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk Gets Significant Insider Update on NFL Future