There’s still not a lot that’s publicly known about Brandon Aiyuk’s contentious year-long saga with the 49ers, one that’s expected to end with Aiyuk’s impending release. 49ers star George Kittle shared his side of things in a Tuesday appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, but even Kittle admitted he doesn’t fully know what’s going on.
Aiyuk, who didn’t play a snap of football last year, started the 2025 season in rehab after tearing his ACL and MCL in his right knee in October 2024. Somewhere along the way of his recovery, his relationship with the 49ers became strained past the point of reconciliation, leading to Aiyuk’s expected split with the organization he has called home for six years.
What exactly happened? Kittle didn’t have much to say about the source of the rift, but he did reveal when he stopped seeing Aiyuk in the 49ers’ building.
“The last time I saw Aiyuk, he was kind of at training camp, kind of not, and then he was in and out of the building throughout the first couple of weeks [of the season],” Kittle said. “Then I started going out to see him in the weight room, because he didn’t go into the locker room or the training room anymore. He would just go into the weight room to do his rehab. ... I would go there and talk to him because he didn’t go to meetings or anything like that. I would just talk to him and let him know, ‘I’m your guy. Just letting you know I love ya.’ I started doing that Week 6, and then literally a week later that story came out about all the crazy stuff and then I didn’t see him again.
“It’s not something I bring up to John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan very often. I’m like, ‘That’s on you guys.’ And I just try to be there for the players if something is going on ... But I don’t know what’s going on with Brandon. I don’t know what he’s thinking about. So I really have no idea.”
George Kittle on Brandon Aiyuk:
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) March 17, 2026
“The last time I saw Aiyuk, he was kinda at training camp, kinda not and then he was in and out of the building throughout the first couple of weeks. Then I started going out to see him in the weight room because he didn’t go into the locker room… pic.twitter.com/tQDetpVW4i
Kittle added that Aiyuk did text him a few words of support after he suffered his Achilles injury in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Based on Kittle’s very loose timeline of events, it appears a bombshell news article detailing Aiyuk’s rumored rift with the team may have quickly escalated the situation. The article in question may have been one written by NBC Sports’ Jennifer Lee Chan in October 2025, which falsely claimed Aiyuk scrubbed his Instagram of all things 49ers-related and was originally titled “Brandon Aiyuk's return to 49ers appears murky after star's social media activity.”
Despite its factual inaccuracies, the article led to a wave of rampant rumors surrounding Aiyuk’s tense relationship to the 49ers, and things pretty much went downhill from there.
Brandon Aiyuk timeline: Everything leading up to 49ers and star WR’s fallout
Aiyuk hasn’t played for the 49ers since suffering his serious knee injury in October 2024, so when he was absent from the team at the start of the ‘25 season, most people assumed it was related to his rehab. Aiyuk was placed on the physically unable to perform list in July and was presumably working his way back up to full health.
In November, however, The Athletic reported that the 49ers were frustrated with Aiyuk for failing to attend team meetings and a general “lack of communication.” This reportedly caused the organization to void the $27 million in guaranteed money in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026, though 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan denied that there was any relation between the events.
“Yeah he's missed them,” Shanahan said of Aiyuk and team meetings. “But people on our team have missed meetings before. That doesn't have anything to do with his contract.”
At this point, more reports came out claiming the 49ers and Aiyuk were heading for an inevitable divorce, and it certainly does look that way. In December, San Francisco placed Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list to end his drama-filled 2025 season without the star WR playing a single snap.
Aiyuk, who just turned 28, is still technically under contract with the 49ers through 2028 but has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal. The 49ers could still be patiently waiting for a chance to trade him (to the Commanders, perhaps), though any team that wants him would likely cut him after 2026 or restructure his contract to avoid taking on a $41 million cap hit in ’27.
Aiyuk is a former first-round pick by the 49ers and has racked up 4,305 yards and 25 touchdowns across five seasons (not counting 2025). Assuming he made a full recovery from his knee injury, he still carries some value as a gifted wide receiver who put together back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in ‘22 and ‘23 and could make an immediate impact as a starter. Chances are Aiyuk will get his much-needed fresh start this offseason, it’s just a matter of when and where.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as George Kittle Details the Moment Things Changed Between Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers .
