You know who could've helped out the San Francisco 49ers right now amid all their wide receiver injuries?
Brandon Aiyuk.
All other things being equal (of course, they couldn't be at any rate), head coach Kyle Shanahan would've loved to have a man coverage-beating separation artist like Aiyuk to complement the big-bodied 50-50 presence of future Hall of Famer Mike Evans.
While Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling, Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson and now even Deebo Samuel all nursing injuries of various lengths, having someone like Aiyuk back in the fray could have been beneficial.
Except that proverbial ship has sailed.
It didn't necessarily have to, though.
Brandon Aiyuk's pride got in the way of him helping 49ers (and himself)
Enough has been said about Aiyuk's dramatic fall from grace with the Niners stemming back to last season. No need to rehash it (although you can get caught up here).
Both receiver and franchise vowed never to reunite again, of course. Yet everyone always loves a redemption story that involves two parties making up and letting bygones be bygones. Once Aiyuk recognized no team was going to trade with San Francisco to acquire his services, he could have simply approached Shanahan and general manager John Lynch and asked how to make things work going forward.
Again, it's far too late for that. But, in light of the 49ers' receiving shortages at this point, there's no doubt Aiyuk would've had a significant role in Shanahan's offense, getting into a position where he'd have a shot at wholly revitalizing his career after not stepping on the field since his 2024 injury.
Aiyuk didn't pursue that path, though. Now, the Niners are forced into calling veteran receivers off the couch, such as Brandin Cooks, while the rumor mill is churning about potential trades Lynch could make to restock his receiver cabinet.
It's a substantial "what if?" scenario playing out. What if Aiyuk swallowed his pride and approached Lynch and Shanahan about coming back in good graces? What if he showcased a professional demeanor on social media instead of seemingly endless cryptic rants during the offseason that stained his reputation?
What if he had never gone AWOL after his injury?
The sad thing about "what if?" scenarios is they're ultimately non-truths. They don't exist, just like Aiyuk's redemption arc.
He would have been in prime position to resurrect his career, had he made different choices over the last year or so.
Instead, he lost out. Bigtime.
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