What Caused Brandon Aiyuk to Disassociate From the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers can’t seem to quit Brandon Aiyuk. Rather than cut him, which is the right call, they oddly believe they can trade him.

While it makes sense for a team to exhaust all trade efforts, this situation doesn’t work for the 49ers with Aiyuk. They practically let the entire world know that Aiyuk quit on them and that they want nothing to do with him.

Retaining him is clearly a petty move by the 49ers. It’s their version of revenge after Aiyuk disappeared from the franchise last season. There’s still no clarity as to why Aiyuk did that. He hasn’t come out and shared his side yet.

Who knows if he ever will? Still, there had to have been a moment when he decided he no longer wanted to associate with the 49ers. And I think I have an idea of when exactly he decided to do that.

What caused Aiyuk to disassociate

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) lays on the ground after suffering an injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The moment Aiyuk chose to disassociate from the 49ers probably occurred when he tore his ACL and MCL. It was in that moment that Aiyuk realized he had made a mistake by not going along with the trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Remember, Aiyuk wanted to be traded from the 49ers. During that whole process in training camp, he was insanely indecisive. It’s what annoyed the 49ers about him during his holdout.

He wouldn’t decide on taking the extension or accepting a trade. It wasn’t until the Steelers came knocking that he was good with it.

And then, he changed his mind and wanted to accept the deal offered and remain with the 49ers. That’s when Kyle Shanahan stormed into the front office to stop the trade from executing.

All of that indicates how extremely unsure and indecisive Aiyuk is. So, when he blows his knee out, it’s in that moment he realizes he should’ve just gone along with the trade. That was probably his gut feeling all along.

It’s relatable to be regretful of a decision when you go against your gut feeling. You feel so sure, yet still go against it for whatever reason. That could’ve been what Aiyuk went through.

And when he gets injured, he must feel that it was a sign that he made a wrong decision. That he should’ve gone to Pittsburgh to avoid the injury and the negative feelings he still had.

Once Aiyuk was paid, he didn’t go back to normal as a grinder and baller on the practice field. He kept up with his weird antics, like when he wore the wrong colored shorts to practice and changed in front of everyone.

Aiyuk was also dropping some routine passes. He wasn’t in the right mindset, and maybe it was because he thought that the extension he signed would change things.

It didn’t. And his gameplay showed it. Until Aiyuk shares his side, I think this is a fairly plausible explanation.

Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchezz to interact with him on the 49ers and more.