Brandon Aiyuk continues to give life to Commanders trade rumors with latest social media post

One of the big stories this NFL offseason is whether or not the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk can reach an agreement on a contract extension. While the two sides have met, there has been no progress on a deal being completed. Even with the lingering contract questions, there has been one constant — Aiyuk hasn’t requested a trade, and the 49ers don’t plan on dealing the wide receiver elsewhere.

However, Aiyuk did create a stir by discussing which teams he envisioned playing with if it was not the 49ers. One of them was the Washington Commanders, due in part to his relationship with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Both played for the Arizona State Sun Devils football program before Aiyuk was drafted in the first round by the 49ers. Aiyuk posted a TikTok video this offseason, telling Daniels on a phone call that the 49ers “don’t want me back.”

Well, Aiyuk wasn’t done stirring the pot on TikTok, as he posted a photo of himself watching practice film of the Commanders and Daniels.

Brandon Aiyuk posts photo on TikTok of Commanders practice film

And just like that, the trade rumors have been reignited.

As mentioned earlier, the 49ers and general manager John Lynch have said that they have no desire to trade Aiyuk. ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed that the Commanders were interested in trading for Aiyuk, but ultimately stopped their pursuit.

Schefter recently said on 97.1. The FAN in Pittsburgh that he doesn’t envision the 49ers trading away Aiyuk this season, considering they are Super Bowl contenders. But Schefter says he’s not sure if Aiyuk will remain in San Francisco beyond the 2024 season.

Aiyuk is set to make $14.1 million for the upcoming season, as part of the fifth-year option. Wide receivers have seen the market increase significantly. Justin Jefferson is making $35 million a year on his new contract with the Minnesota Vikings. A.J. Brown is earning an annual salary of $32 million with the Philadelphia Eagles. Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions and Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins are currently making $30 million per year. It’s going to cost quite a lot for the 49ers to keep Aiyuk.

What makes things a bit more difficult for the 49ers is that their roster is loaded, they dolled out huge contracts to the likes of edge rusher Nick Bosa and running back Christian McCaffrey, and they will have to pay quarterback Brock Purdy, which won’t be cheap.

We’ll see what happens on the Aiyuk-49ers contract front, but the wide receiver continues to have the Commanders on his mind.