Brandon Aiyuk Told the 49ers to Cut Him So He Can Join the Commanders

Brandon Aiyuk is over it. And he wants the San Francisco 49ers to know it.

The wide receiver, who hasn’t played since a brutal leg injury cut his 2024 season short and forced him to miss all of 2025, took to Instagram with a direct message for his current employers. According to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, Aiyuk posted a video with a pretty clear demand.

“If I’m crazy or if I’m cappin’, tell them boys cut me today and I’ll sign with the Commanders tomorrow. We’ll see who’s cappin’,” Aiyuk said.

That’s about as pointed as it gets. He’s not asking for a trade. He’s asking for his outright release. And he’s already named his preferred next team.

Aiyuk’s Frustration Has Been Building for a While

This isn’t a spontaneous outburst. Aiyuk and the 49ers have been dancing around each other for years. Even before the leg injury that derailed his 2024 season, contract talks had turned tense. He wanted a new deal. The team wasn’t rushing to give him one. Then the injury happened and everything got complicated.

Now he’s healthy again, at least by all public accounts, and the 49ers are moving forward with their offseason program. But Aiyuk isn’t moving with them. He’s sitting at home, waiting, and apparently hoping the front office just lets him walk.

The Commanders make sense as a landing spot. They need a difference-maker at receiver. Aiyuk, when he’s right, is exactly that. Before the injury he was one of the more underrated route runners in the league. He can win at every level and he’s physical after the catch. The question is whether he’ll ever be the same player after missing an entire season.

What Happens Next?

The 49ers haven’t commented on the video. They don’t have to. Aiyuk is under contract and they control his rights. Cutting him would mean eating dead money and letting him walk for nothing. That’s not typically how NFL teams operate, especially not with a player who still has trade value on paper.

But holding onto a disgruntled receiver who’s publicly begging to leave isn’t great either. It creates a distraction during a season where the 49ers are trying to bounce back from a divisional round blowout loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Aiyuk is betting that the 49ers will blink. Or that they’ll decide the headache isn’t worth it. Or that the Commanders will make it worth their while somehow. Either way, he’s made his position clear. The ball is in San Francisco’s court.

The 49ers open the 2026 season in early September. Whether Aiyuk is on the roster for that game is anyone’s guess right now.