Overview
- The Aiyuk–49ers relationship collapsed during rehab and the team placed him on the reserve/left-squad list, effectively ending his time with the club for the 2026 offseason.
- Aiyuk tore his right ACL and MCL on October 20, 2024 and has not played since, which has left medical risk and long-term availability in doubt for potential suitors.
- San Francisco voided the remaining guaranteed money in Aiyuk’s four-year, $120 million extension after he missed team rehab in 2025, creating large future cap charges that complicate trade math.
- Analysts say the receiver’s market value is depressed and pundits have floated low-cost trade ideas — most prominently a Bleacher Report proposal that would send Aiyuk plus a 2027 sixth to Washington for a 2027 fifth — but no deal has materialized.
- Any move is likely to require Aiyuk to accept a reworked, incentive-heavy contract or face a release, which could leave him with a smaller open-market payday and teams reluctant to absorb short-term cap risk.