Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers have kept their relationship long-distance as a divorce inevitably looms.
One day after the club moved the wideout to the reserve/left squad list, effectively ending his season, coach Kyle Shanahan spoke candidly Sunday about where things stand with Aiyuk, who has not suited up since sustaining a torn ACL last October.
“I mean, haven’t seen him in forever,” Shanahan said, according to Pro Football Talk. “That’s the decision they make. It’s been pretty simple for me. I haven’t seen him in a month, and same with our team. So, that hasn’t been an issue with our team at all. We’ve kind of been plugging away, and no big deal — or it’s just something we’ve been used to for a while.”
Matters between Aiyuk, 27, and the Niners have been murky for some time.
Last month, it was reported that the franchise opted to void guaranteed money in Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million extension for the 2026 season, as his absence from team events was considered a failure in fulfilling contractual obligations, according to The Athletic.
Aiyuk, who agreed to that extension in August 2024, allegedly relayed to representatives of the NFL Players Association that he did not plan to contest the move.
Then came Saturday’s decision to move the former first-round pick to the reserve/left team list, typically designated “for players who intend either to retire or to temporarily step away from football,” per ESPN, holding his snap count at zero for 2025.
The Niners’ course of action added to mounting speculation that the parties could part ways this offseason, with 49ers tight end George Kittle speaking on the Aiyuk situation Thursday.
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“At this point, it doesn’t seem like he’s coming back,” Kittle said. “I try my best to not even think about it because I love Brandon. He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve played with. We have a lot of moments together from his rookie year, every year we’ve played together. That’s the Brandon I remember. So, if I think about the ‘I wish he’d be here,’ it kind of just makes me sad.”
Aiyuk appeared in seven games last season before going down with an injury. He had 25 receptions for 374 yards and zero touchdowns.
As for the Niners, they improved to 10-4 on Sunday with a 37-24 win over the Titans.
They hold a wild-card slot in the NFC playoff race as of Monday morning.
