The Brandon Aiyuk saga will seemingly never end.
At the NFL league meetings in Arizona this week, the San Francisco 49ers gave some varying answers on what Aiyuk's future could look like.
CEO Jed York needlessly complicated things with his comments on the matter.
When asked about the possibility of Aiyuk staying with the 49ers, York said that anything is possible and went on to say, "BA’s a talented guy. Would love to be able to bring him back into the fold, and if not, I think he’s a valuable asset that other people would want, and we’re going to make sure that we get value and we bring talent into our building."
Does York really think there is some world in which Aiyuk remains with the 49ers? While it is not impossible, it seems exceedingly unlikely.
Aiyuk and the Niners have been at odds for years now, and things got so bad that San Francisco took the nuclear option and voided the rest of Aiyuk's contract. He did not even contest it with the NFL Player's Association.
Both sides need a fresh start in the worst way, something that head coach Kyle Shanahan seems to recognize. At the NFL meetings, he said that San Francisco is still trying to get something for Aiyuk in a trade, even if that seems unlikely.
General manager John Lynch was more matter-of-fact at the 49ers' end-of-year press conference when he said point blank that Aiyuk's days as a 49er were done.
Maybe York is just trying to keep every avenue open. This is a franchise that made every indication that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would be on his way out after the 2021 season. Garoppolo even said goodbye to the local media.
Yet, there Garoppolo was that next season, backing up Trey Lance. Weird things happen.
At this point, seeing Aiyuk back on a practice field wearing green shorts as Shanahan tells him to change would somehow feel normal.
Still, in the most likely scenario, the 49ers will just have to release Aiyuk. Perhaps they are holding onto him for so long out of spite, or maybe they genuinely do think they can get a seventh-round pick for him from some team willing to roll the dice.
No matter what, York's comments needlessly complicate things and make it seem like San Francisco is not speaking with one voice on Aiyuk.