49ers Confirm Aiyuk's Final Game with Team

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed Wednesday that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has played his final game with the team, marking the end of a contentious tenure that began with promise and unraveled after a severe injury.

Lynch made the announcement during a 38-minute news conference alongside head coach Kyle Shanahan, as the organization reviewed its 2025 season. "I think it's safe to say he's played his last snap with the Niners," Lynch said. "It's an unfortunate situation that just went awry. I will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn't work out." Shanahan echoed the sentiment, describing the breakdown in communication as unprecedented in his 22 years of coaching. "I say it officially stopped for me when last time I tried to get a hold of him, I couldn't," Shanahan said. "And tried a couple more times and still couldn't. And that matched everyone else that was trying to get a hold of him and couldn't. Eventually there's not much of an explanation, because it's really hard for us and anyone else to understand."

Aiyuk, the 2020 first-round draft pick out of Arizona State, emerged as a key contributor for...