By canceling their mandatory minicamp, the 49ers avoided a potentially awkward moment with receiver Brandon Aiyuk.<\/p>\n
Even if the team had excused Aiyuk, he could have insisted on attending and practicing. The 49ers would have had to decide whether to let him do it, or whether to release him.<\/p>\n
Instead, by having no reason for Aiyuk to show up for the mandatory minicamp, the 49ers have preserved the ability to squat on Aiyuk\u2019s contract. Which is what they have been doing, and what they apparently plan to keep doing.<\/p>\n
Aiyuk has posted a message to his current team on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop running from the belt<\/a>,\u201d Aiyuk said in the video. \u201cThe belt coming. You scared. They scared. The truth is they scared. They know how I get. They gonna say, \u2018Oh, yeah, B.A. did this, B.A. did that.\u2019 You know that shit \u2014 \u2018Allegedly. Allegedly.\u2019 But what they not gonna say is \u2018B.A. suck at football,\u2019 because they know how I get.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they running from that belt that\u2019s on the way. It\u2019s inevitable. It\u2019s coming. Stop running.\u201d<\/p>\n The 49ers, frankly, are holding onto Aiyuk\u2019s rights because they can. The relationship collapsed after Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL in Week 7 of the 2024 season, less than two weeks after signing a four-year, $120 million extension on the brink of the 49ers trading him<\/a> to the Steelers. <\/p>\n Aiyuk later defaulted on the contract, allowing the team to void more than $26 million in guarantees for 2026. (Aiyuk didn\u2019t challenge the move.) It gives the 49ers the ability to delay cutting Aiyuk until the eve of training camp \u2014 if he plans to show up. (Although his salary for 2026 wouldn\u2019t become fully guaranteed as termination pay under the CBA unless and until he\u2019s on the Week 1 roster, a season-ending injury during camp would entitle him to his pay.)<\/p>\n Instead, the 49ers have been holding out for a trade offer. With no one willing to inherit his current contract, Aiyuk would have to rework the deal in order to facilitate a trade.<\/p>\n The incentive for the Commanders (or another team) to do that came from the ability to get Aiyuk up to speed via the offseason program. With OTAs and mandatory minicamps ending soon, there\u2019s less leverage for the 49ers in June and July.<\/p>\n They still have cards to play. If Aiyuk doesn\u2019t report for camp, they can put him on the reserve\/did not report list. They can keep him from signing with another team until he walks through the door and forces them to deal with him. In theory, his career would slip into limbo if he doesn\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n In most circumstances like this, the team could be accused of playing dirty pool with the player. In the present case, the 49ers have good reason to be upset with Aiyuk, and to be unwilling to make a return to football with the Commanders or another team any easier for him.<\/p>\n Aiyuk\u2019s best play is to show up for training camp and wait to be released. The 49ers\u2019 best play is to do nothing until he does. When he does, the 49ers would be wise to release him before he suffers a new injury that would put them on the hook for another major financial obligation.<\/p>\n