Brandon Aiyuk’s public spiral keeps making life harder for him, and the latest signs out of Washington do him no favors.
The San Francisco 49ers receiver has spent months firing off social media rants that started with the Niners, then widened to include his former agent, the players union and even Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the player on the team he wants to join. That kind of noise has left a rough impression around the league, and the Commanders now appear to be part of the chorus.
At a training camp practice, Washington general manager Adam Peters was asked indirectly by NBC Sports’ J.P. Finlay whether a player’s social media activity matters when the team evaluates potential additions. Peters didn’t mention Aiyuk by name, but his answer said plenty.
“That's not usually a huge part of it... Usually,” Peters said.
That last word is doing a lot of work. It’s a pretty clear signal that Washington is not exactly looking at Aiyuk’s online behavior as a selling point.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added another layer to the picture on The Insiders, saying people close to Aiyuk - including some inside the Commanders building - are more worried about the receiver himself than about football.
“Those close to (Brandon) Aiyuk, including some within the Commanders building, are much more concerned about his well-being. Making sure he is OK rather than signing him. That seems to be a long shot right now.”
If this is truly a well-being issue, that deserves understanding. But it doesn’t erase the rest of the mess surrounding Aiyuk since he was placed on the reserve/left-squad list late last season. His decision to call out head coach Kyle Shanahan after the coach was involved in an injury-causing auto accident was already viewed as crossing a line.
Whatever approach Aiyuk has taken over the past several months, it’s not helping his case. And the fact that he doesn’t seem to be backing off only makes the situation look worse for his future in the NFL.
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