49ers GM John Lynch said Brandon Aiyuk has “played his last snap as a Niner.”

21 January 2026

This was presumed to be the case when the 49ers put Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list. It’s still stunning to hear about a player who signed a four-year, $120 million contract one season. San Francisco voided future guarantees in Aiyuk’s deal after he failed to meet certain contractual obligations. That should make it relatively easy for the team to release at some point in the offseason. He will be free to sign with any team, though the San Francisco fiasco will cost him an absurd amount of money in the long-run. NFL insiders have tabbed the Commanders and Steelers as potential landing spots for the mercurial wideout.