SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In the days after the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 season ended, general manager John Lynch made it clear that the team would be parting ways with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk at some point this offseason.
At the NFL combine a month later, Lynch said the team was waiting for the new league year in March to make that transaction official at some point thereafter.
Then at last week's league meetings in Phoenix, coach Kyle Shanahan echoed that sentiment, but clarified that the move wouldn't be done quickly unless someone made an acceptable trade offer.
"I don't have a date for it," Shanahan said. "But I know eventually it'll resolve itself. Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we're in no rush to do that."
In what is becoming one of the longest divorce proceedings in recent NFL memory, the Niners are clinging to hope that they can get anything for a player who hasn't played since Oct. 20, 2024 (when he tore the ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee) and hasn't been in contact with the team since late November.
Despite Shanahan's and Lynch's comments about Aiyuk moving on, Niners owner Jed York added a new wrinkle last week by indicating there's at least a long shot possibility Aiyuk could stay with the team in 2026.
"I think anything is possible, right?" York said. "We want to make sure that we have as talented of a roster as possible. First and foremost, he needs to get healthy and be able to perform. I think once that happens, he's a really, really good football player."
Here's a deeper look at where things stand with Aiyuk, the chances of a trade and whether it's actually possible he will stay in San Francisco.
Brandon Aiyuk hasn't played an NFL game since tearing his ACL, MCL and meniscus on Oct. 20, 2024. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images How long will the 49ers keep Aiyuk? For now, the only deadline is Sept. 1, when Aiyuk has a $24.935 million option bonus due. The 49ers would prefer to move on from Aiyuk long before then, but with that date so far out, it at least gives them flexibility.
The Niners don't need the minimal 2026 cap space that releasing Aiyuk would create, so they're incentivized to hold on to him in case a team wants to make a trade offer.
While Shanahan's and York's comments seemed to hint at different things on the surface, they both effectively served to let the league know that if they want to acquire Aiyuk, evaluate his health and get him acclimated during the offseason program, they'd have to do something soon.