Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Josh Downs

Sunday, April 5, 8:16 AM

The San Francisco 49ers have made it clear that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) won't be back with the team in 2026, but they are in no rush to get rid of him, according to The Athletic's Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur. If an NFL team is interested in Aiyuk's services and wants him in their building this spring to learn their offense, they can trade for him, but there's no reason for the Niners to do any other team a favor by handing Aiyuk over now for a draft pick. They may release him after the NFL draft at the end of April if they can't find a trade suitor by then, but they can also wait longer if they want to, as the 49ers don't owe Aiyuk anything until his option bonus is due on Sept. 1. The Washington Commanders seem like the logical destination because of general manager Adam Peters' familiarity with Aiyuk from his time in the Bay Area. Aiyuk was also teammates with Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels at Arizona State. The 28-year-old former first-rounder had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, but he played in only seven games in 2024 before tearing his ACL, and he didn't play at all last year. There are questions about Aiyuk's motivation, making him a very risky option for NFL teams and fantasy managers going forward.