Brandon Aiyuk’s 2025 Stagnation Sparks Uncertainty: Is the Niners’ Future at Risk?

Brandon Aiyuk’s 2025 season has unraveled into a tale of dashed hopes and mounting uncertainties — a chapter that’s nearly certain to mark his final act with the San Francisco 49ers. After toiling throughout the year on the physically unable to perform list, still nursing that brutal torn ACL from last season, the wide receiver was officially sidelined for good on Saturday, landing on the reserve/left squad list—a status that’s as telling as it is troubling. Nearly 14 months out of action, Aiyuk’s expected triumphant return to form — the kind that justified his hefty four-year, $120 million contract — has slipped through fingers like sand. Whispered reports of frayed relations with the team and the recent voiding of his 2026 contract guarantees have only raised the stakes; the reality now looms large that reconciliation is off the table, and the countdown to free agency is ticking louder than ever. Money questions, cap savings, and refund pursuits swirl around a saga that’s far from over. To grasp the full scope of this startling development, see the full story here: LEARN MORE.

Brandon Aiyuk’s 2025 will officially go down as a lost season. It also appears likely it will go down as his final year with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners wide receiver was placed on the reserve/left squad list on Saturday, officially ending his season. He had previously spent the entire campaign on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from a torn ACL he sustained last year.

The exact circumstances of the move are unclear, but it’s a designation that means what it says on the tin. Aiyuk is no longer with the team, without permission.

It has been nearly 14 months since the Pro Bowler last appeared in a game for the Niners. His 2024 season ended prematurely with the torn ACL, but he was expected to come back this season and provide the downfield threat that earned him his four-year, $120 million contract, which was acquired in its own contentious process.

Aiyuk’s recovery extended into the season, with his progress slow bordering on non-existent. head coach Kyle Shanahan confirming that the team had voided the 2026 guarantees for Aiyuk’s contract in July.

Aiyuk and the NFL Players Association did not file a grievance against the Niners for that move, setting up the 27-year-old wideout to hit free agency after this season. Putting him on the reserve/left squad further removes any possibility of a reconciliation.

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The only questions remaining seem to be when the Niners will officially cut ties with the receiver and how much more money of that contract they are going to try to recoup. Aiyuk received a $1.2 million salary with a $22.85 million option bonus, for which the team seems likely to seek a partial refund.

Even if they don’t get it, the team is looking at a cap savings of at least $27 million per year over the next three seasons.