49ers to part ways with Brandon Aiyuk after injury and contract turmoil, GM says

Sam Darnold spoke on the Seattle Seahawks' 41-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Divisional Round.

San Francisco 49ers president of football operations and general manager John Lynch offered clarity about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's future with the franchise.

"I think it's safe to say that he's played his last snap with the Niners," Lynch said at the team's end-of-season news conference on 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 will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. And I think that 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 is not off the table, Lynch suggested the 49ers would be more inclined to release the 27-year-old wideout. Whichever move comes next would end one of the NFL’s most turbulent player-team standoffs.

Aiyuk’s contract dispute lasted through the 2024 training camp. The two sides eventually reached an agreement on a four-year extension in August 2024, shortly before the regular season kicked off.

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Just a few weeks later, Aiyuk and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan engaged in what appeared to be an animated exchange over the color of the receiver’s practice