49ers’ Shanahan, Lynch make the Brandon Aiyuk situation clear. ‘It’s unfortunate’
Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch confirmed this week what has been true, in their minds, since the summer: Brandon Aiyuk is no longer part of the 49ers’ plans.
Lynch and Shanahan spoke to reporters in a 38-minute news conference to put a bow on their 2025 season on Wednesday, and their remarks about the embattled receiver were the most notable of the day. Lynch hinted Aiyuk will be removed from the roster at some point early in the offseason.
“I think it’s safe that he’s played his last snap with the Niners,” Lynch said. “It’s unfortunate. Just a situation that went awry. I will look long and hard at what could have been done different, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. And I think that this was a case where that happened.”
The 49ers worked around training camp last summer to void the guarantees in Aiyuk’s contract he signed a year earlier after he became unresponsive to coaches and staffers while going through rehab from a torn ACL suffered October 2024. The details of voiding the nearly $25 million in guarantees, and virtually ending Aiyuk’s future with the team, were first reported by the Athletic in November.
There’s been no word from Aiyuk’s camp about his divorce from the team, save for cryptic social media posts and Aiyuk posting a video on YouTube speeding by Levi’s Stadium after the contract news surfaced, for which he later apologized.
“I say it officially stopped for me when last time I tried to get a hold of him, I couldn’t,” Shanahan said when asked about the devolving relationship. “And tried a couple more times and still couldn’t. And that matched everyone else that was trying to get a hold of him and couldn’t. And eventually there’s not much of an explanation, because it’s really hard for us and anyone else to understand, and that’s why it’s something that I’ve never seen in my 22 years of coaching.
“So it’s just unfortunate, and it’s confusing because for all of us,” he continued. “You try as hard as you can to fix something that you don’t understand, but it’s not like we understand it very well. But eventually you understand that it’s not going to change you got to move on with your football team, which is always the most important thing.”
Aiyuk’s departure is a factor in receiver becoming a possession that needs addressing in the offseason. Jauan Jennings, who led the 49ers with 9 receiving touchdowns, is slated for unrestricted free agency — and the 49ers had only three completions on 10 targets to receivers in the blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round on Saturday. Shanahan and Lynch traded former All-Pro wideout Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders last March.
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contact extension in August 2024 after contentious negotiations that included him sitting out training camp practices. After signing, he had 25 catches for 374 yards with no touchdowns in seven games before suffering the injury.
Lynch wouldn’t rule out any avenue when it comes toward improving the receiver position. With Aiyuk out of the picture, the 49ers are expected to have nearly $35 million in salary cap space for 2026, according to Spotrac.
“We’ll explore anything to make our football team better,” Lynch said. “I think we’ve shown that. Right now we’re gonna get together and going to put together our plan like we do each and every year.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 1:34 PM.
