Brandon Aiyuk is done in San Francisco, and now everybody is waiting on the Commanders to make the move.
The 49ers already went public with the strongest possible language on Aiyuk’s status. San Francisco has said Aiyuk will not play another game in the Bay Area. That is not the usual “trade candidate” wording. That is a franchise telling everyone the divorce is done.
Aiyuk wants to go to Washington. He wants to reunite with his college teammate Jayden Daniels. That is the reporting from every outlet covering the story and Aiyuk has done nothing to suggest otherwise. The Commanders are the destination he wants.
The complication is money. Aiyuk is under contract on a massive deal signed just two summers ago. Washington is going to have to take on the contract to make this work. General manager Adam Peters is capable of maneuvering, but writing a Kliff Kingsbury offense a check for a top-20 wide receiver contract is a real commitment.
The upside is huge. Daniels needs a WR1. Terry McLaurin is still the top guy in Washington, but he is 30 now and cannot carry the offense forever. Adding Aiyuk gives Kingsbury and Daniels a legitimate second target and lets McLaurin play a slightly reduced role that lengthens his career.
The 49ers have to move him because the relationship is beyond repair. Kyle Shanahan and Aiyuk have not been on the same page for basically two years. Contract talks were nasty. On-field frustrations spilled into the media. Shanahan needs a receiver who wants to be there. Aiyuk clearly does not.
The trade market for Aiyuk is not huge. Most contenders are set at receiver. The Commanders are the obvious fit and Aiyuk knows it. San Francisco cannot leverage a bidding war. This is going to be a Washington-only conversation.
That means the 49ers are probably not getting a first-round pick back. The current thinking around the league is a second-round pick and a mid-round pick swap. If Washington really wants him, maybe they add a young player to sweeten it.
Aiyuk’s timeline is running out. Training camps open in a couple weeks. A player who does not want to be in a locker room does not want to sit through a month of team-building drills with that team. Something is going to give before the end of July.
The Commanders are 8-9 dogs on the market for this deal and everybody knows it. Adam Peters is going to have to decide whether the risk of paying big money for another wide receiver is worth the ceiling boost for Daniels. History says it is.
Brandon Aiyuk in a Commanders uniform is coming. Just a matter of days now.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
