Brandon Aiyuk Reportedly Didn\u2019t Show Up For Rehabilitation<\/h2>\n
Aiyuk\u2019s return to the field has been delayed \u2014 the 49ers have not yet opened his 21-day window to return from the PUP list \u2014 which has frustrated fans. The Niners are hanging on offensively \u2014 they won while scoring just 20 points on Monday night against the\u00a0Carolina Panthers\u00a0\u2014 while they await the No. 1 receiver\u2019s return from the knee injury sustained almost 14 months ago.<\/p>\n
But the news that Aiyuk\u2019s guarantees were being voided sent shockwaves across the\u00a0NFL, and Fowler\u2019s intel indicates they involve the 2020 first-round pick\u2019s unwillingness to participate in rehab for his knee injury over the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few people I\u2019ve checked with believe an issue was Aiyuk\u2019s failure to show up for rehab appointments during the offseason,\u201d Fowler reported Wednesday. \u201cEither he didn\u2019t trust the trainers or didn\u2019t want to show up. Either way, an unwillingness to properly rehab a significant knee injury as the team sees fit is typically easy grounds for a guarantee void.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brandon Aiyuk Is Unlikely To Be With The 49ers Beyond This Season<\/h2>\n
The NFLPA offered to grieve Aiyuk\u2019s voided guarantees \u2014 especially his nearly $25 million option bonus, which is now up in the air. But Aiyuk informed the union not to push back, and he may have played his final snap with the 49ers, according to The Athletic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAiyuk, sources say, has failed to attend meetings and declined to participate in other team activities in recent months, and the 49ers have grown increasingly frustrated with the receiver\u2019s lack of communication,\u201d Dianna Russini reported earlier this week. \u201cThe 49ers, sources say, responded by voiding the guaranteed money in Aiyuk\u2019s contract for 2026, asserting that the absences amounted to a failure to fulfill his contractual obligations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAiyuk, according to multiple league sources, told NFL Players Association representatives that he did not want to fight the move via an official grievance. That would clear the way for his expected release at season\u2019s end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aiyuk is still under contract with the 49ers, who may want to trade the disgruntled wideout to recoup a draft pick or two for him this offseason. But if they don\u2019t, he will be released by the team \u2014 likely after June 1, since the Niners can then avoid a nearly $30 dead-cap hit by cutting him then.<\/p>\n
Or Aiyuk could work with the 49ers to restructure his deal so they won\u2019t be in cap hell and so he can join a team right when the 2026 league year opens in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few teams I spoke to believe Aiyuk is slightly more tradeable with the voided guarantees,\u201d Fowler reporterd. \u201cThough with the option money still technically on the books, reworking his deal altogether would be the preferred method.<\/p>\n
\u201cAiyuk might not want that. Getting released and hitting free agency in March would be the cleanest path for him \u2014 and he would have suitors. He\u2019s only 27 and had 1,342 yards in 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Brandon Aiyuk divorce from the\u00a0San Francisco 49ers\u00a0is getting ugly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n