Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Jaylin Noel

Monday, November 9, 1:22 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said last week on KNBR radio that there should be enough resolution in the wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk saga to discuss the process of reinstatement in more detail this week, according to David Lombardi of The San Francisco Standard. Since Aiyuk applied for reinstatement before Tuesday's Nov. 10 trade deadline, the 49ers could not deny the application. The 28-year-old former first-rounder from Arizona State was officially reinstated from the left-squad list on Monday, and the 49ers were granted a two-week roster exemption for him. The 49ers now have until Nov. 23 to either trade Aiyuk, release him, or add him to their active 53-man roster. Aiyuk will find it more difficult to be straight up released since he now owes around $13 million in bonus forfeitures. What we do know is that the 49ers do not have any interest in patching things up with Aiyuk, who has not played since tearing his ACL and MCL in his right knee in October of 2024. Whether another team is interested in securing Aiyuk's services if he becomes a free agent is another question entirely, which makes him a wait-and-see long shot in fantasy football in 2026.