San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been engaged in a standoff with the team since last year after he was placed on the PUP list while recovering from ACL and MCL injuries. Aiyuk missed the entire 2025 season, but he has upped the ante this offseason with several pointed social media messages aimed at the organization.
Jarvis Landry is Pessimistic About Brandon Aiyuk’s NFL Future
During a segment of the “4th and South” podcast, five-time Pro Bowler Jarvis Landry gave a brutal assessment of how he would view Aiyuk if he were a general manager in the league.
“I wouldn’t touch him, and it’s no disrespect to the athlete,” Landry said. “I want the player, but this personality that he’s showing, how he’s showing up for fans that love him, for his family, for himself, I wouldn’t touch him as a general manager, as an owner, as a team.”
“But there may be a coach out there that he has a relationship with… that can bring him in, and hopefully, he can get back to playing the best type of football that he can play,” Landry added. “Without that, I don’t see until a change of behavior is evident, especially through social media or however he becomes visible to the public, using these platforms. If that doesn’t change, I don’t think he ever gets back in the league.”
Aiyuk was placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp last year and was later placed on the reserve/left team list in December. He also missed several mandatory rehabilitation sessions with the 49ers’ medical staff, causing the franchise to void nearly $27 million in guaranteed money from a contract signed in 2024.
On Tuesday, the wide receiver posted a clip on Instagram seemingly blasting the 49ers for their handling of his contract situation and insinuating that he will join a new team next year.
“You wanna know why they really mad though?” Aiyuk said. “They mad ’cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months and then voided my guarantees for 2027. And I’m about to be on a new team in 2027. They mad at theyselves for real… acting like they mad at me, but they stupid a** mad at theyself.”
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Aiyuk established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the league in 2023, ranking at No. 4 in PFSN’s WR Impact Metric. He was rewarded with a lucrative four-year, $120 million contract extension, but his 2024 season was cut short by injury, and he recorded only 374 receiving yards on 25 receptions in seven games.