SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has yet to return to the San Francisco 49ers after suffering a devastating right knee injury in October 2024. With six games left in the 2025 regular season, it's increasingly possible he won't play for them again.
During training camp, the 49ers voided the guaranteed money Aiyuk has in his contract for 2026 because he had not been meeting the requirements of that deal, a league source said Friday. The Athletic first reported the contract alteration, which includes an option bonus worth $24.935 million. That bonus originally became guaranteed on April 1 of this year and has now been voided.
Aiyuk is also scheduled to receive a $1.215 million base salary and has bonuses for workouts and per game appearances available as well. But it remains to be seen whether any of that will be paid out as the voiding of his 2026 guarantees clears the way for the Niners to part ways with him in the relatively near future.
For now, the question remains whether Aiyuk will play this season. He tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus in a Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024 and has been rehabilitating through the offseason and into this season.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said during training camp the hope was Aiyuk would return to practice sometime around Week 7, but that still has not happened. On Monday, Shanahan said nothing has changed with Aiyuk's status.
"Brandon's just week-to-week," Shanahan said. "When he had such a big injury like that, just waiting until he is fully comfortable to come up and start practicing."
According to a source, Aiyuk has still not been cleared to return from a health standpoint. That, of course, does not mean the 49ers have been happy with how things have gone from the months leading up to his signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension on Aug. 29, 2024, to now.
That extension only came together after a long standoff between the team and Aiyuk in which Aiyuk was nearly traded to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers at various stages.
Just as the Niners nearly traded Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, he and Shanahan had a conversation in which they seemed to figure things out and Aiyuk agreed to sign the $30 million per year deal.
But soon after, there were signs of discord, including a public disagreement between Shanahan and Aiyuk on the practice field in which Aiyuk was told to change from the red shorts he was wearing into the black ones the rest of the team was wearing.
Without a training camp, Aiyuk struggled through the first four games but appeared to be rounding into form in Week 5 when he had eight catches for 147 yards against the Arizona Cardinals. Two weeks later, he suffered the knee injury against the Chiefs, ending his season.
Had it not been for that injury, the Niners had hoped to trade Aiyuk in the offseason, according to sources. But without a handle on his health status and sizable contract numbers on the books, a serious trade market never materialized.
Despite not playing, Aiyuk was a consistent presence at practice during training camp, even earning praise from receivers coach Leonard Hankerson for his willingness to help the team's other wideouts.
But while Aiyuk has continued to be in the building for workouts and rehab, he hasn't been seen during the portion of practice open to media in weeks and has not been around the locker room during media sessions, either.
For now, Aiyuk remains on the physically unable to perform list. Because Aiyuk is not on injured reserve, he would not count against the team's limit of eight players they can bring back from that list. Which means the team could, theoretically, open Aiyuk's window to practice without him playing in a game.
On Nov. 5, Shanahan was asked if there's a chance Aiyuk doesn't play this season.
"I'm pretty confident that he is going to eventually," Shanahan said then. "At least open up his practice window."
The 49ers are scheduled to hold their last practice of the week Saturday afternoon ahead of Monday night's game against the Carolina Panthers. Shanahan is set to speak following practice.