Brandon Aiyuk’s messy divorce from the San Francisco 49ers is all but official. The embattled wide receiver suffered a horrific knee injury midway through the 2024 season and has not played since, despite the expectation that he would be able to return in the latter half of the 2025 season.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch have both publicly said that Aiyuk has played his last snap for their team, which is unusually forthright about the future of one of their former star players. Throughout the offseason and into the season itself, Aiyuk’s relationship with the organization deteriorated to the point where he was ignoring calls from the coaching staff and had cut off all contact with the 49ers.

It’s a pretty unprecedented situation in recent NFL history. Suffice to say, Aiyuk will be playing in a different city next year, but it’s unlikely he gets traded. In 2024, San Francisco signed him to a four-year, $120 million deal with a $30 million average per year. Reports since then indicated the 49ers had pretty immediate buyer’s remorse, and the torn ACL didn’t help matters. He was available on the trade market last summer but between the injury and salary, there were no takers. 

In 2026, he’s scheduled to make $27 million. No team is going to want to take on that salary, not with Aiyuk’s status coming off that injury still murky and not with the in-house issues he had with the 49ers. San Francisco hasn’t even attempted to create any leverage, as their highest-level decision-makers have publicly stated he’s done in San Francisco. That doesn’t exactly create a strong trade market.

Whether he’s cut or traded, the cap situation is the same for the 49ers. This summer, the team voided the remaining guarantees in his contract due to Aiyuk reportedly missing rehab sessions with the team. Aiyuk chose not to file a grievance with the NFLPA and contest that decision, seemingly paving the way for the 49ers to release him. Most of the $27 million he’s owed in 2026 is in the form of an option bonus that has to be picked up by September 1. Cutting Aiyuk saves the 49ers all of that cash. 

It does not save them cap space, at least not if they do it before June 1. Option bonuses are treated like signing bonuses and spread out over the remaining years of the deal, so Aiyuk was scheduled to count just $14.6 million against the cap this year. Cutting him increases that to $29.6 million in dead money. If the 49ers use a June 1 designation or wait until then, they could break that dead cap hit up to just $8.3 million in 2026 and the rest in 2027, saving $6.3 million in cap space. 

From there, whenever the 49ers choose to do that, Aiyuk will be free. He’s probably not going to command a massive multi-year deal in free agency, not unless another team is strangely confident in his health and mental status. More than likely, Aiyuk will be looking at a one-year contract in the $10-14 million range. His goal will be to rebuild his value in 2026 so he can cash in during the next free agent cycle.

Here are some potential landing spots to watch for: 

New England Patriots

It’s been an incredible debut season for HC Mike Vrabel in his first season coaching in New England. The Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl in QB Drake Maye’s second season and the arrow is pointing firmly up on this team, regardless of the result on Sunday.

But Maye is carrying an undermanned Patriots offense to unforeseen heights, and they’ve been exposed a bit in the playoffs thus far. The offensive line is young and improving but still shaky, and this receiving corps is bottom-third in the league. It’s amazing what Maye has accomplished with both groups (a point in his favor in the MVP debate) but to continue their momentum in future seasons, the Patriots need to add a lot of talent to their offense.

Aiyuk makes a lot of sense here for a few reasons. He’d give Maye a certified top threat on the outside, allowing the rest of New England’s receivers to fall into more complementary roles. With the Pats picking at No. 31 or No. 32, they’ll be out of range of this class’ top options at receiver, and may prefer to take a swing on one of the offensive tackles with upside available in that range.

The Patriots were also one of the teams that were interested in trading for Aiyuk in the summer of 2024. He didn’t want to sign a long-term deal with the Patriots at that time, ahead of a year in which they won just four games, but things are different for both sides now. 

Buffalo Bills

It’s no secret that the Bills need a go-to receiver and their owner just publicly threw Keon Coleman under the bus. Even if Coleman wasn’t used as a scapegoat for the failures of the previous head coach, Buffalo would still need to add a top receiver.

Aiyuk would pair well with the Bills’ current leading receiver, Khalil Shakir, who mostly plays in the slot. They’re likely picking too late in the draft to take one of the consensus top receivers (Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, or Carnell Tate) without giving up more assets to trade up. Aiyuk is the best talent available for the Bills to add.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans could be in play because of the Robert Saleh connection. The new Titans head coach was the defensive coordinator in San Francisco this past season. While that certainly wouldn’t have given him the best impression of Aiyuk, perhaps there is more going on behind the scenes that would make Saleh think the situation wouldn’t repeat in Tennessee.

If so, the landing spot makes a lot of sense. The Titans got two quality receivers for their future in the fourth round of the 2025 draft in Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor, but they still lack a top-flight option. Ayomanor is probably a WR2 in the NFL and Dike primarily plays in the slot and is more of a gadget and deep threat.

Aiyuk would give them a number one option and elevate Tennessee’s offense. This season is all about giving 2025 No. 1 pick QB Cam Ward as much help as possible, and adding Aiyuk would allow them to focus their draft assets along the offensive line and on defense.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns had the worst receiving corps in the league last year, so they’re in play here almost by default. With two first-round picks, they may prefer to build around younger talent, but they could also make a play for the veteran Aiyuk to boost the floor of their offense. They were another team that tried to trade for Aiyuk only to be rejected by the player, but he has fewer options this time around. 

Cleveland arguably has the best defense in the NFL. With even a passable offense, they’d be a playoff contender. Additionally, if the Browns are planning on getting a serious look at former fifth-round QB Shedeur Sanders next year, they need to give him some basic offensive infrastructure to work with. Signing Aiyuk would be a good start.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, but metrically they were still a top 10 team in the league before QB Patrick Mahomes tore two ligaments in his knee. As a result, they now have a top 10 pick to add to an already strong roster.

One of the few areas of need for this team is at wide receiver. Rashee Rice is a strong contributor, but former first-round pick Xavier Worthy hasn’t become a reliable every-down piece. Rice is a possession/underneath option while Worthy is a smaller body who operates mostly deep downfield. Aiyuk would give the Chiefs a body type and role at receiver they don’t currently possess on the roster.

Kansas City is pretty far over the cap at the moment and will have some work to do to get under it. Additionally, they have a few defensive free agents of their own, such as S Bryan Cook and CB Jaylen Watson, that they may wish to prioritize. Still, Aiyuk would be a serious floor-raiser for this offense, and it would let them focus their premier draft asset on the trenches, where they probably have bigger needs.

If Aiyuk’s market is small enough, don’t be surprised if the Chiefs emerge as an opportunistic suitor.

Other teams to watch: Washington Commanders, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens