Brandon Aiyuk’s social media behavior is now drawing fire from outside the 49ers, and former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder isn’t sugarcoating his view of it.
On his podcast, “The Pivot,” Crowder went straight at the San Francisco wide receiver and delivered a blunt two-word message: "Shut up."
Crowder questioned the point of Aiyuk’s public comments and the way he’s handled himself online, especially when it comes to involving other players. He pointed to Aiyuk saying, “I’m going to sign with the Commanders.‘” and then wanting support when criticism followed.
“Shut up. What’s the point of what he’s doing?
Then he wants to go to Jayden. He wants to say, ‘I’m going to sign with the Commanders.‘
And then he wants to say, ‘Hey, man, you got to defend me.‘ When a fan yells at you, just be quiet.
What’s the point? Why does the new-age athlete have to get out here and do all this stuff on social media?
Just shut up, go get that check and play football at a high level. That’s the thing I can’t understand about them.
I don’t know what you’re doing or what your angle is… I don’t know if he has an angle on this because it doesn’t make sense. I’m going to badmouth them.
I’m going to badmouth the guy I want to go play with. I’m going to badmouth my college teammate.
Who’s in your circle?”
Crowder’s criticism comes amid growing skepticism around Aiyuk’s recent public outbursts and social posts. The concern now isn’t just the comments themselves, but the people around him and the advice he’s getting.
Aiyuk has been taking heat lately, and the reaction from former players suggests that the noise is only making things worse. The concern is that every new post gives teams another reason to wonder what kind of player they’d be signing.
The source of the frustration is easy to see: if Aiyuk is willing to speak this way about the 49ers, some around the league may wonder whether he’d do the same elsewhere.
Aiyuk could push back by asking what he’s done to San Francisco. But that question may be part of the issue, because the situation has clearly reached a point where even his next move is being watched closely.
The 49ers may have handled things better, and there’s no question hindsight makes that easier to say. Still, the bigger problem now is that Aiyuk doesn’t seem reachable, even if the team wants to reason with him.
For now, the chatter around him keeps building, and the message from NFL veterans is getting louder: he may be talking himself out of his next contract.
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