Bay Area Reporter Under Fire for False Report on 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk

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With Brandon Aiyuk recovering from injury, the San Francisco 49ers could sign Keenan Allen to fill in.

he San Francisco 49ers are off to a strong start to the 2025 NFL season, sitting at 4-2 and atop the NFC West, a good showing the rest of the season could see the team return to the playoffs after a one year absence. Dealing with injuries to several key starters, the 49ers early season success is impressive considering the circumstances.

One of the 49ers‘ key injured players is Brandon Aiyuk, who suffered a gruesome knee injury during a week seven game last season, and has yet to play in 2025. Signing a four-year, $120 million extension before the injury occurred, the 49ers hope that they get their star pass catcher back sooner rather than later. Since he has been out, there has been reports of drama between Aiyuk and the 49ers. And according to an Oct. 14 report from NBC Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan, the drama between Aiyuk and the 49ers took another hard turn. However, the report was proven false, with Chan now under scrutiny.

Chan’s Report

On Monday, Oct. 14, Chan reported that Aiyuk deleted all references to the 49ers on his social media accounts, sparking speculation that he was on his way out of San Francisco after his return from injury. Chan used quotes from head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch earlier in the season and even said that Aiyuk hadn’t been seen at 49ers’ practice in weeks. After the story came out, NBC Sports Bay Area reposted the story on their social media accounts.

“The star wideout deleted all evidence of the 49ers from his Instagram account and has unfollowed the team,” Chan said in her original story. “This is not a new phenomenon. Aiyuk has unfollowed the franchise before — during his hold-in while undergoing contract negotiations last summer. Up until approximately two weeks ago, Aiyuk had been very visible during practice, running alongside his fellow receivers during the open portion of practice. Aiyuk’s speed and agility during those sessions gave the impression that a return from a devastating knee injury could be soon.”

But a user, Brad Graham– who runs ‘TheSFNiners’ social media accounts and sites– quickly called out Chan’s report, saying it was completely false.

Chan’s Response

After Graham’s post on X, NBC Sports Bay Area responded by getting rid of the original repost of the story from its accounts, and updating it with a new link that redirects to an updated and more accurate headline that mentions Shanahan’s update on Aiyuk that he gave on Oct. 14. Graham noticed that NBC Sports Bay Area updated the story and posted on his X account that the post was deleted, however Chan quoted that tweet and said that the post was updated, not deleted.

“Thank you for the heads up,” Chan said. “I admit I was incorrect about the timeline. It was adjusted, not deleted.”

Aiyuk still remains and the PUP list and a timeline for his return is still to be determined. And given how many injuries the 49ers have had to deal with this season, getting Aiyuk back will provide a major boost.

Dylan Grausz A lifelong sports fan, Dylan channels his passion for sports into being a journalist, where his primary goal is to provide readers with content that they love to read. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Dylan’s love for the Warriors, 49ers and Giants runs deep, having the ultimate dream of being a beat reporter for one of those teams. More about Dylan Grausz