Friday presented another turn in the Brandon Aiyuk/San Francisco 49ers drama.
The star wide receiver, who is set to play on his fifth-year option for the 49ers in 2024, has been at odds with the 49ers since the end of the 2023 season regarding a contract extension. The two sides aren’t close on a new deal.
Recently, Aiyuk said the 49ers told him they didn’t want him and called his good friend — Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels — to tell him the news. Aiyuk recorded the video and shared it on social media. Aiyuk and Daniels are close from their one season together at Arizona State in 2019.
All offseason, speculation has been rampant regarding Aiyuk potentially landing in Washington to catch passes from Daniels. The Commanders and 49ers did discuss Aiyuk, but Washington chose not to accept the proposed deal.
Fast forward to Friday. Aiyuk was a guest on “The Pivot” with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor. Daniels was among those who showed up with Aiyuk for the interview.
Clark asked Aiyuk to guess, he stressed “guess,” which uniform he thought he’d be wearing in Week 1.
“If I were to take a guess, probably a Niner uniform,” Aiyuk responded. But this is where things got interesting.
“If not a Niners uniform, probably a Washington Commanders uniform, if not a Washington Commanders uniform, probably a Steelers uniform.”
At this point, Clark tried to sell Aiyuk on the possibility of playing in Pittsburgh. Clark played eight seasons with the Steelers, but also had two stints with Washington that lasted a total of three seasons.
Aiyuk wasn’t done talking about Daniels.
“S–t, there’s a quarterback [Jayden Daniels] right there. I’m thinking about what I can do with him,” Aiyuk said.
It still seems doubtful that Washington trades for Aiyuk. For the Commanders and GM Adam Peters, it’s not about the money, but more about giving up the required draft capital. These aren’t Daniel Snyder’s Commanders anymore.
Here’s the full episode if you’re interested: