Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers are one step closer to a split at the end of the 2025 NFL season.
San Francisco moved Aiyuk to the reserve/left team list Saturday, per the league’s transaction wire, in the latest development for the former second-team All-Pro wideout. This ensures he won’t play at all this year for the team.
The reserve/left team list is typically used for players intending to retire at the end of the regular season. This makes a separation between the former first-round pick and the team he’s spent six season with a virtual guarantee.
Following Aiyuk’s breakout 2023 season as the 49ers earned a trip to Super Bowl 58, he and the 49ers agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension.
He made it less than two months into the 2024 NFL season. Aiyuk tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in the 49ers’ Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs and hasn’t suited up for San Francisco since.
Aiyuk was seen at the team’s facility in the offseason rehabilitating his knee as he continued the long recovery process. Communication between him and the 49ers broke down over time, though, and San Francisco voided the guarantees in his contract for the 2026 NFL season.
Aiyuk reportedly said he will not fight the team on that move.
San Francisco selected Aiyuk with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Arizona State. He had two 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 and led the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in the latter year.
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