One of the more eyebrow-raising storylines from this past NFL offseason and into the 2025 season was the saga surrounding the soon-to-be former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Now, according to an ESPN reporter, the Washington Commanders are emerging as the favorite to land him.
Washington Commanders Emerge as Frontrunner for Brandon Aiyuk
Last season, the Commanders made a deal to acquire former 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Now, they have their sights set on another 49ers pass catcher, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN reports that Aiyuk will be released and the Commanders are emerging as the most likely landing spot.
With the new league year set to begin today, the #49ers plan to release WR Brandon Aiyuk. Could happen as soon as today, but certainly soon. Washington is the most likely landing spot for Aiyuk, probably on a one-year prove it deal.
SF is expected to use post June 1 designation,… — Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 11, 2026
While a deal for Aiyuk could reunite the duo, Samuel is set to become a free agent when the new league year begins today at 4 p.m. ET, and it’s unclear if the Commanders will bring him back.
This comes after the 49ers signed longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, which took the NFL world by storm.
According to Wagoner, the 49ers are expected to use the post-June 1 designation, which is why they had to wait until the new league year to execute the release. As a reminder, the 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million deal on August 29, 2024.
Wagoner also points out the dead cap numbers from Over the Cap, which include $13.325 million in 2026 and $21.247 million in 2027. Additionally, the 49ers will “get a credit of $4.987 million toward the 2027 cap.”
It is worth noting, though, that at the time of this writing, per Over the Cap, a post-June 1 designation for Aiyuk will result in dead money hits of $8,338,281 in 2026, 2027, and 2028, so there’s a bit of a discrepancy with Wagoner’s numbers.
Either way, as Wagoner points out, this will “save significant amounts in future years by getting Aiyuk off the books.”
Aiyuk didn’t play a single snap for the 49ers this past season. In 2024, he played in just seven games after tearing his ACL in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He didn’t play enough to qualify for PFSN’s WR Impact metric that season.
In those seven games, he caught 25 passes on 47 targets for 374 yards and didn’t score a touchdown. In fact, he hasn’t scored a touchdown in a regular-season game since December 31, 2023, when he caught seven passes for 114 yards and a score against, believe it or not, the Commanders.
