49ers Ready To Release Wr Brandon Aiyuk, Should The Browns Make An Offer?

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk with the San Francisco 49ers. Where do you start? Leading up to April’s NFL draft, San Fran GM John Lynch stated that Aiyuk was not going to be traded. The team voided the $27 million in guaranteed money in his contract. Aiyuk has been rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered last season.

Aiyuk had a warrant issued by the District Attorney’s office for a misdemeanor charge of exhibition of speeding. From that point on, after destroying his knee, Aiyuk went AWOL from the franchise and is currently on the reserve/left squad list. Then, the cryptic social media messages Aiyuk posted stated the Niners front office was “mad because they are stupid.”

RELATED: CONCEPCION AND BOSTON – A PERFECT COMPLEMENT

Now, there are reports that the 49ers are ready to release Aiyuk and start a new chapter that doesn’t include him.

Should the Browns reach out?

It is no secret that last season, Cleveland had one of the worst receiver groups in the league, ranking #31. But a lot has transpired since the end of the 2025 NFL season.

Jerry Jeudy is still on the roster. In April’s college draft, GM Andrew Berry selected KC Concepcion out of Texas A&M in the bottom of the first round. With the very next pick, Berry took Washington receiver Denzel Boston. Veteran Tylan Wallace was signed in free agency, although he is more of a return man. Isaiah Bond is scheduled to grow his development and take control of the slot receiver spot.

It remains uncertain where Cedric Tillman’s role will be, if at all, and there are still capable backups such as Malachi Corley and Jamari Thrash to consider.

One might ask: where exactly would Aiyuk fit?

Aiyuk (6’-0”, 200 pounds) was drafted by the 49ers after a very good Senior Bowl week in 2020 and was the 25th overall pick. As a rookie, he became the first receiver since the merger year of 1970 to score two rushing touchdowns in his first three NFL games.

He has played in 69 NFL games with 67 starts. His stats: 446 targets, 294 receptions for 4,305 yards, 209 first down conversions, 25 touchdowns, 14.6 yards per catch average, 1,493 YAC, and 22 drops. He has also rushed 13 times for 117 yards and scored twice.

His best season was in 2023 when he had 75 catches for 1,342 yards with seven TDs. He was voted Second Team All-Pro that year.

Aiyuk has never had breakaway speed and has issues getting separation. He is a good route runner with excellent YAC numbers. He is considered dynamic with a massive catch radius. Aiyuk a tremendous wingspan of 80” with shiftiness and good vision.

After his breakout year, the 49ers then inked him to a four-year $120 million extension at the end of 2024 training camp. But in Week 7, he tore his MCL and ACL against the Kansas City Chiefs, which required surgery and landed him on IR. At the beginning of training camp last year, he was placed on the PUP list as he was still experiencing issues. He did not play a down in 2025 and San Fran went after the majority of his guaranteed money that remained.

Aiyuk’s future with the 49ers, and in the league for that matter, has been a hot topic all offseason. He refused to rehab at the team’s facilities and, in fact, had his surgery performed in Los Angeles, where he remained for his rehab. All of this was a point of contention with the Niners front office, who prefer to have its medical and rehab staff take care of situations like this. Teams prefer to monitor their own wounded.

And without being under the thumb of the organization, the 49ers had no real way of knowing what was going on with Aiyuk’s rehab. There were rumors of scar tissue that wasn’t properly taken care of. Aiyuk cut off all communication with the team, so nobody knew anything.

Does Aiyuk even want to play football any longer?

The 49ers still don’t know anything about Aiyuk’s situation and timeline. Nobody is clear as to why Aiyuk has avoided all contact with his team. Now, he’s calling them “stupid.”

NFL insider Jason Canfora stated that an NFL executive told him that their team would only offer Aiyuk the veteran minimum. It is not certain as to how many teams would take a flyer on him. Obviously, he would have to be medically cleared, then perform a workout.

The odd thing about Aiyuk is, what transpired to make him dismiss his old team like that? He has cut off all communication with the Niners. Is this something that would transfer over to this new team, or simply a one-off?

The big question is: Should the Browns take a look at him, and potentially sign Aiyuk?