There is little incentive for the San Francisco 49ers to rush into releasing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk now that the new NFL league year has begun. The team can move on from Aiyuk at any time, and it may prefer to wait and see whether a wide receiver–needy team expresses trade interest.
The 49ers also have little reason to make things easier for Aiyuk by releasing him early, which would allow the receiver to sign elsewhere and gain additional time to acclimate to a new NFL team.
Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, general manager John Lynch stated that any potential move involving Aiyuk would likely occur after the start of the new league year, which began Wednesday.
According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the 49ers are not expected to move quickly.
"First and foremost, it says that they're planning to release him, but I'd like to add on that they're not planning to release him any time soon," Schefter said Wednesday on ESPN's NFL Live, per Florito Maniego of NBC Sports Bay Area. "They essentially have no guaranteed money left in his contract, so they can hold on to him for the time being. They can hold on to him in the draft and see if they could flip him for a pick at that point in time. They can hold on to him until June.
"They've paid him an awful amount of money. I don't think this is happening any time soon, despite the report, and I think that they'll be holding on to him for a little while to see if there's any trade value at all."
Aiyuk has been at the center of considerable drama for the 49ers over the past year. The team initially hoped the receiver would recover from ACL and MCL injuries and return at some point during the 2025 season, but that never materialized.
Questions also surfaced during his recovery, as Aiyuk reportedly did not participate in team-directed rehabilitation sessions or meetings. Communication between the receiver and the team eventually broke down, prompting the 49ers to place him on the reserve/left squad list, officially ending his season.
Now, Aiyuk's NFL future appears likely to continue elsewhere, with the 49ers expected to move forward without the receiver they signed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension ahead of the 2024 season.