Any chance of Brandon Aiyuk landing with Washington may have just gone up in flames — and it happened on Instagram.
Despite a string of social media posts suggesting he was headed to Washington’s roster, Aiyuk abruptly shifted course and took a very public shot at the team’s starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels.
In an Instagram story where he directly tagged Daniels’ account, Aiyuk wrote: “‘5’ gonna text me talking about some, ‘You’re on my team now. You follow my rules.’”
He continued: “Boy, I’m a grown-ass man, boy. You gonna have to start running behind your mamma, and I might believe what you talking about. But until then, mmm-mmm.”
Aiyuk remains technically on the San Francisco 49ers’ roster, though he’s listed on the team’s reserve/did not report list. He’s also been publicly critical of Niners general manager John Lynch and his former agent Ryan Williams, labeling both of them “weirdos.” Lynch stated back in January that Aiyuk has thrown his last pass — or rather, caught his last pass — as a member of the team.
Daniels and Aiyuk are no strangers to each other — they were teammates at Arizona State. Daniels appeared to fire back with his own Instagram story, sharing a clip of Houston Rockets forward and Washington fan Kevin Durant giving a thumbs-down to someone in the crowd earlier this year.
Aiyuk then posted a GIF of himself holding up a pair of shoes along with the message: “Let’s Run it 5! Let’s see! Need you available all son, and I’ll do the same!”
The online back-and-forth was set off in part by a viral clip from a World Cup match, in which a fan yelled at Daniels: “F— Brandon Aiyuk! … You better not throw s— to him next year.” Daniels was seen laughing at the comment.
The Athletic had previously reported that Washington was open to offering Aiyuk a short-term deal loaded with incentives if he became available, hoping he could recapture his earlier form. Whether that interest still stands following his social media outbursts is unclear.
The 28-year-old sat out all of last season after suffering a serious knee injury in 2024, a year in which he managed only 25 receptions for 374 yards across seven games. Before the injury, he had put together back-to-back standout seasons — a career-best 1,342 receiving yards in 2023 and a career-high 78 catches in 2022.
