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San Francisco 49ers president of football operations and general manager John Lynch offered clarity on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s future with the franchise.
“I think it’s safe to say he’s played his last snap with the Niners,” Lynch said at the team’s end-of-season news conference Wednesday.
Lynch went on to acknowledge that the situation with Aiyuk had gone off course.
“It’s unfortunate. A situation that just went awry. And I’ll look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. And I think this was a case where that happened.”
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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 17, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
While including Aiyuk in a future trade package isn’t off the table, Lynch suggested the 49ers would be more likely to release the 27-year-old wideout. Whichever move comes next would end one of the NFL’s most turbulent battles between players and teams.
Aiyuk’s contract dispute lasted through the 2024 training camp. The two sides eventually agreed to a four-year extension in August 2024, shortly before the regular season started.
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Just a few weeks later, Aiyuk and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan engaged in what appeared to be an animated exchange about the color of the receiver’s practice shorts. The players were reportedly instructed to wear black shorts for training on September 27, while Aiyuk arrived in red shorts.
Before he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee in October 2024, Aiyuk wasn’t nearly as productive as he had been in previous seasons. He finished with 374 receiving yards over seven games. Aiyuk also missed several rehab sessions last offseason.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) is introduced to the crowd before the game against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium on September 9, 2024. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
In July 2025, the 49ers decided to void an estimated $27 million in guarantees included in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026. In December, Shanahan said a long time had passed without contact from Aiyuk.
“It’s been pretty simple for me, I haven’t seen him for a month,” the coach told reporters on Dec. 15.
On Wednesday, Shanahan offered more details about the failed attempts to contact Aiyuk.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) catches the ball during warmups before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on October 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
“I’d say it officially stopped for me when I tried the last time to get hold of him and couldn’t, and then tried a couple more times and still couldn’t,” he said. “And then it matched everybody else trying to get him to come in. And in the end, there’s not much of an explanation because it’s really hard for us and everybody else to understand, and that’s why it’s something I’ve never seen in 22 years of coaching. It’s unfortunate and it’s confusing because it’s become confusing for all of us.'”
Aiyuk was moved to the reserve/left team list last month. He did not appear in any regular season or playoff games in 2025.
The Niners will likely look to address their wide receiver room this offseason, given Aiyuk’s pending exit and Jauan Jennings’ scheduled free agency. Ricky Pearsall remains under contract until 2026 but injuries limited him to just 10 appearances last season.
