Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Cedric Tillman

Monday, March 30, 7:08 PM

It has felt inevitable for a while that the San Francisco 49ers would trade or release disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) this offseason. However, owner Jed York said at the owners' meetings on Monday that he would "like to see him play for us," when referring to Aiyuk. The 28-year-old former first-rounder in 2020 out of Arizona State had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 and 15 total touchdowns before signing a four-year, $120 million contract with the Niners in August of 2024. Aiyuk played in only seven games that year before suffering a season-ending torn ACL. He did not play at all in 2025 and reportedly stopped showing up to the team's facilities for his rehab, which led to the 49ers voiding the guaranteed money left on his deal last year. It's still more likely that Aiyuk won't be playing in the Bay Area in 2026, and he'll be a huge question mark for fantasy managers after such a long layoff.