OPINION:
One lingering question about the Washington Wizards selecting A.J. Dybantsa with the top pick in the NBA draft: What does Brandon Aiyuk think?
For a brief spell, Aiyuk was not the topic of debate and discussion on the Washington sports airwaves, podcasts and social media groups. Dybantsa and the Wizards took a slice of the summer gab. But it didn’t take long for Aiyuk, the estranged San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, to take his place again in the DMV debate. On 106.7, The Junkies poll for the day was: “Do you have Brandon Aiyuk fatigue and are out on Aiyuk?”
Mind you, now. Aiyuk doesn’t play in Washington. He doesn’t live in Washington. He wasn’t born in Washington. But you would think he was the most popular athlete in the nation’s capital with the way his absence — or presence, it’s confusing — has dominated local sports talk.
He certainly seems to want to be here. Over several months — heck, years if you go back two years ago when he posted on TikTok to his former Arizona State college teammate Jayden Daniels. In the middle of contract negotiations, Aiyuk said: “They (49ers) don’t want me back.”
Aiyuk made it clear in a social media post — he is quite the poster, with a series of cryptic avant-garde videos, the latest showing him grabbing wads of money out of a backpack and tossing them on the floor — he wants to play for the Commanders.
“Tell them boys cut me today and I’ll sign with the Commanders tomorrow,” Aiyuk said.
The “boys” are the 49ers. It turned out in 2024 they actually did want Aiyuk back, signing him to a four-year, $120 million contract extension that included $76 million in guaranteed money.
Aiyuk then suffered a severe knee injury — multiple torn ligaments — that required surgery.
What typically follows surgery is rehabilitation. But the receiver opted to do his own rehab, out of view from the team and did not take part in team-supervised rehab sessions. He pretty much disappeared, so the team voided his contract guarantees.
This is what makes Aiyuk so compelling. He walked away from $27 million.
Aiyuk is still a 49er, though everyone believes it is a matter of time before they release him. They are likely holding out to try to trade him, but if they can’t squeeze a low-round draft pick out of the Commanders or someone else, San Francisco will release him.
Before that, though, it seems they are doing everything they can to punish the enigmatic receiver. They may even move his locker to that nearby power substation that is zapping 49er players.
All this has wound up being the biggest story in Washington because everyone believes their star quarterback needs help.
Daniels led the Commanders to a 12-5 record and the NFC conference game in his rookie year with Terry McLaurin and a host of nameless receivers and unproven rookies. Daniels elevated that receiving corps with his talents, but that required a lot of heavy lifting. Daniels couldn’t carry that load last year, with McLaurin’s contract holdout and the quarterback’s injuries.
Now here we are in 2026 — Daniels’ third season — and the quarterback is currently being tasked again with lifting a corps of receivers consisting of McLaurin, nameless receivers and unproven rookies. Observers believe Daniels shouldn’t have to carry so much of a load – that he needs more formidable weapons, even one that is as damaged and unpredictable as Aiyuk.
The Commanders? General manager Adam Peters plays everything close to the vest.
“Really, I think every room is a room we’d still like to add, I mean, it’s March 30th right now,” Peters told reporters a few weeks ago. “But in terms of that room specifically, obviously, we have Terry. Terry’s the No. 1 receiver. We brought Treylon [Burks] back, which I’m excited about. I think he’s got another level he can go to. He showed us a lot when he was at practice and in the games when he was able to make some plays there. Luke [McCaffrey] and Jaylin [Lane] are another couple of guys that are a year older that we’re excited about. And then bringing Dyami [Brown] back and Van [Jefferson], we have a couple of young guys in there, too. So, I like the room right now, but I think that everywhere we have a lot of time to add before we play in September.”
No one outside of San Francisco should be more knowledgeable about Aiyuk than Peters, who was the assistant GM there when Aiyuk was lighting up the league, including his 2023 season, when the receiver caught 75 passes, leading the league with 1,342 yards.
But Aiyuk is not that guy anymore. He would likely add to the load Daniels has to carry — not lighten it.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
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