The NFL Just Reinstated Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers Should Keep Him

The Brandon Aiyuk Saga keeps getting more interesting.

Now, the NFL has reinstated him merely one day before the trade deadline, which means he almost certainly will play this season, assuming he still can play at an NFL level. We haven't seen him on a field in two years.

In addition, the 49ers have given the 49ers a two-week roster exemption for Aiyuk, which means he can be an extra player on their team. But if he's on their roster at 1:00 pacific on Tuesday, then the 49ers will owe him a game check for the week, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

I sincerely doubt that the 49ers intend to give Aiyuk any more money just before they trade or release him, considering they've already given him millions just to walk away from the team for a year. Why would they give him a parting gift when they hate him?

I'm guessing the 49ers would like to trade Aiyuk, and they have until tomorrow to do so. And considering his guarantees have been voided, his base salary is $1.2 million this season, and half the year is already over, he is extremely tradeable. A team could send the 49ers a seventh-round pick, pay Aiyuk roughly $500,000 for the rest of the season, and then release him after the season, or keep him if they like him.

It's possible that Aiyuk's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, already has found a team that's willing to trade for Aiyuk, and a tentative deal between that team and the 49ers is in place. That team could be the Kansas City Chiefs, who desperately need a wide receiver.

If the 49ers were to trade for a wide receiver of their own, say George Pickens or Brian Thomas Jr., then by all means, trade Aiyuk. Give him a fresh start elsewhere. Move on.

But if the 49ers don't trade for Pickens or Thomas or some other young potential No. 1 receiver, they should keep Aiyuk. They currently need a wide receiver as desperately as any team in the league. Relying on Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins is not smart. Because Evans is old and breaking down, and if he misses a playoff game, the 49ers will lose.

Unless they have Aiyuk. We know he has terrific chemistry with Brock Purdy. So why just give him away for next to nothing? Why not keep him until the end of the season, and then cut him?

Let him earm some of those millions the 49ers feel he stole from them.

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