Brandon Aiyuk seeks NFL reinstatement to resume career with 49ers, or elsewhere

Cam Inman, Bay Area News Group on Nov 4, 2026

Published in Football

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Coach Kyle Shanahan and several 49ers leaders were unmoved, unenthused and perhaps unconvinced by Wednesday’s news that estranged wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is officially making a comeback, two years after last playing for the 49ers.

Aiyuk has submitted a request for reinstatement to the NFL, his new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed Wednesday.

Aiyuk plans to report Friday to the 49ers‘ Santa Clara facility, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported.

“I have no expectations. I’ve moved on with that mentally and everything,” Shanahan said. “I talked two months ago about that and nothing has really changed for me.”

Shanahan would not go so far to emphatically rule out Aiyuk’s return as a Niner, noting there “are no absolutes in life.”

Aiyuk, in a summer string of social-media posts, vowed to never return to the 49ers and disparaged both Shanahan and genearl manager John Lynch.

The 49ers’ apparent options are to release him, trade him before Tuesday’s 1 p.m. deadline, or welcome him onto the 53-man roster, although they could seek an exemption through this week.

Players were subdued and guarded in the locker room when asked about Aiyuk before Wednesday’s practice.

”It’s not my place, really,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “I’ll dap him up. No hard feelings between me and him.”

Linebacker Fred Warner said: “I don’t know if I have anything to say. It will kind of work itself out.”

Added running back Christian McCaffrey: “I don’t make any of those decisions so it’s not on my radar.”

Rosenhaus declined further comment about Aiyuk’s intentions, and an NFL spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment and confirmation about reinstatement efforts. Aiyuk has not spoken to the media since leaving the team a year ago and being placed in December on the reserve/left squad list.

The 49ers currently sit atop the NFC standings with a 6-1 record as they emerge from their bye to host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at 1:25 p.m.

“Brandon is healthy and ready to get back on the field,” Rosenhaus told Schefter.

Aiyuk still has an active case with the Santa Clara County Superior Court that resulted in a January arrest warrant, stemming from his “exhibition of speed” drive past Levi’s Stadium last December and his YouTube video about it.

Shanahan said in September the 49ers were not interested in reuniting with Aiyuk, and yet their wide receiver corps has only been further decimated by injuries: Samuel (hamstring), Mike Evans (Achilles), Demarcus Robinson (ankle), De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle) and Ricky Pearsall (knee).

Samuel, left tackle Trent Williams and wide receiver Jordan Watkins are among those who liked an Instagram post last week in which Rosenhaus announced his union with Aiyuk.

Aiyuk, a 2020 first-round draft pick, parlayed back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons into a lucrative contract extension in 2024 paying him $30 million annually, but that came only after a contentious summer negotiation in which his trade demands were scuttled at the last minute. He has not played since tearing multiple ligaments in his right knee during an October 2024 loss to Kansas City.

Aiyuk’s 2025 comeback produced a rift with the organization, which voided more than $27 million in guarantees when he reportedly did not abide by their rehabilitation plans. He still showed up for training camp and the first month of last season before going incommunicado in October 2025.

“It’s safe to say he’s played his last snap with the Niners. It’s unfortunate, a situation that just went awry,” Lynch said in January’s end-of-season press conference.

Jed York, the 49ers’ owner, encouraged Aiyuk’s return in March while speaking to reporters at the NFL meetings in Phoenix.

“We paid him for a reason. I think he’s a really good football player,” York said then. “And when you look at the group of people that is there, especially adding guys like Mike (Evans) and Christian (Kirk), who are legit veteran people, that’s a room that can absorb somebody that has had a tough go with our franchise for the last year or so. We are making sure that room is what it needs to be, and if B.A. is a part of that room, we’re going to be more talented, and I have no problem with that. I hope he’s doing well personally and I hope I get to see him soon.”

Financially, Aiyuk’s release will charge the 49ers $12.4 million against this season’s salary cap, and a $19.3 million hit next year but with a $5 million offsetting credit, per Spotrac.com.