The San Francisco 49ers still haven’t moved on from wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Even though it’s widely expected he won’t be part of their long-term plans, the team isn’t hurrying to release him, and one analyst thinks that decision may not come until later in the summer.

Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in 2024. During that time, his relationship with the organization continued to decline to the point that a reunion no longer seems realistic.

Things took another turn during training camp, when the 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guaranteed money for 2026 after he failed to meet certain contract conditions. That included an option bonus worth $24.935 million, which had originally been guaranteed on April 1 before being voided, according to ESPN.

Amid this messy separation between the 49ers and Aiyuk, in which the team doesn’t appear to be willing to cut ties with him, David Lombardi, who covers the Niners for the SF Standard, shared an update on the wideout’s future.

“I think [the 49ers] might hold him all the way through training camp so they don’t just give him away for free,” Lombardi said in a March 27 video on his YouTube channel.

“Don’t let Brandon Aiyuk get to Washington’s training camp. We know how important training camps are for wide receivers. When Brandon Aiyuk missed his in 2024, he wasn’t a good player to start the 2024 season.”

49ers Appear Keen on Trading Bradon Aiyuk

Moreover, the situation could become a little clearer after the NFL Draft. If there’s a team like the Washington Commanders, which has been speculated as a landing spot for Aiyuk, missing on wideout targets could force them to make a trade.

“If Washington is the team that wants to sign Brandon Aiyuk, and they still have major questions at receiver after the NFL Draft, they might start thinking he could help fix things,” Lombardi added.

“At that point, they could decide they need him in training camp. If the 49ers are holding him, then the question becomes how to get him there. The answer is likely a trade, and that could allow the 49ers to get something in return for Brandon Aiyuk.”

Brandon Aiyuk Decision Might Not Come Until June

With all the drama involving Aiyuk, many would assume that San Francisco would want to end this tenure as soon as possible, but that’s yet to happen. Moreover, Spotrac’s Mike Ginnitti doesn’t see the Niners cutting ties with Aiyuk until June.

“[Aiyuk] gets released on June 2, which is terrible because the San Francisco 49ers can designate him a post-June 1 release right now,” Ginnitti said in a March 19 video from The Team 980. “That could have happened last week. They can free up this dead-cap situation in June, put him on the open market, and let him pick a team right now.

“I believe they will choose not to do that and wait until June, until after the draft, and make all the other teams make decisions without him in the fold, including draft picks. Then they will release him… I think there’s a little bit of vindictiveness happening here, but I guess I understand it if things really got that sour.”