Brandon Aiyuk's best opportunity to play NFL football again went out the window the moment the Washington Commanders signed Stefon Diggs on Wednesday. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, his former college teammate, was his only connection to the wide receiver-needy team, but Aiyuk's behavior this summer (and even prior) seemingly left Washington averse from approaching.
With Diggs off the board, any other teams looking to find a solid WR2 before Week 1 could glance Aiyuk's way, but they may be more inclined to bite the bullet on a one-year, multi-million-dollar deal with someone like Tyreek Hill or Keenan Allen instead. It didn't need to be this way for Aiyuk who, despite not playing in a game for over a year, had a lot of bargaining power if he had just kept his mouth shut.
A brief history of Brandon Aiyuk's career-busting antics
Aiyuk suffered a serious knee injury during the 2024 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers, which kept him out long-term into 2025. He reportedly deviated from his rehab plan during the offseason leading up to last year's campaign, and that didn't sit well with the team. Ultimately, his guaranteed money for that year was voided, and that seemed to send Aiyuk off the deep end.
The 28-year-old did not file a grievance with the NFL Players Association over the situation (still hasn't) and decided not to show up for any kind of practice, which would've actually forced the team to cut him and allow him to find a new team on his own. Aiyuk began posting nonsensical videos to social media claiming he was going to be signed by the Commanders, then blasting his supposed best friend Daniels, and then still believing he would land in Washington.
To this day, Aiyuk's rights are still controlled by San Francisco and it appears no team has approached general manager John Lynch to offer anything for him. He's going to have to be cut at some point, but by then his options will be severely limited.
Brandon Aiyuk's NFL future is in serious limbo after Commanders sign Stefon Diggs
In the simplest technical terms, Brandon Aiyuk is not allowed to play in the NFL in 2026. When the 49ers placed him on the "left squad" list, he literally became ineligible to participate — even for San Francisco. He must request to be reinstated, and so far, there hasn't been the slightest indication he's going to do that.
Aiyuk reportedly bought a $10 million property in Northern Virginia, presumably under the assumption he'd be attending Washington's training camp this month. With Diggs being the Commanders' choice to lineup opposite Terry McLaurin, that was not a wise investment by Aiyuk.
He could theoretically apply for reinstatement and then, if successful, have his agent lobby the Baltimore Ravens hard for an opportunity, but they just committed hard cash to Zay Flowers and that would be one inconvenient commute around the D.C. beltway and up I-95. There just doesn't seem to be a viable path for Aiyuk to get back to the league, and it's unfortunate.
His contract with San Francisco, despite having the guarantees voided, runs through 2028, so there is a serious possibility that should Aiyuk continue his holdout out of principle, he wouldn't be able to try and sign with a team for another two years. That's a death sentence for him in what would be his age 30 season after not touching the field for roughly three years. It didn't have to be this way, Brandon.
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