The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[TTViper]

I'd bet money there is more to the story that we aren't getting. Aiyuk's relationship with the coaches / front office soured and he it basically seem like both sides are happy to move on. It's entirely possible that they talked about this path forward and both agreed.

There’s been smoke there for years now. They thought throwing money at it would make the problem go away. It’s also not been all sunshine and rainbows for Deebo in his tenure there. I speculate their issue is with Kyle. He’s the only one on that staff that is untouchable (for now).

 

[bowhunter]

You can't have your cake and eat it too. And One year "prove it" deals still leave you hungering because at the end of them you stlil have.....Nothing. You haven't filled the WR corps with good talent to help your young QB, nor have you carried any Cap money forward to help pay your QB (or other missing pieces.) Heck you haven't even inked cap friendly deals to help provide some stability. After the year is up, you have no talent and no money. Show me a team full of such one year deals and I'll show you a GM who is unable to know when to take the gamble on character and talent. Going through the sign/extend/ sit out dramas really don't add anything to team chemistry, in fact they detract from it. Salary caps take away any advantage of leasing vs buying and are best reserved for adding that final piece for a SB run. We hired AP to be "the guy" capable of weighing the talent/health/salary pieces, pretend I'm from Missouri and "show me."

 

[DogofWar1]

The more I think about it, the more I kinda just want us to go get Doubs and draft Tyson or Tate. Yes that forces us into FA more for edge, and you definitely still do an evaluation of Aiyuk, but if there's any concern about Aiyuk, then you can't risk wasting time on him. If his knee is shot, his knee is shot. Doubs is young, and can probably be a good #2 type option for a while. Pair him with a real blue chip talent from the draft and then for '26, assuming you don't pay Deebo and let N. Brown go, you've got Terry/Romeo/1st Rounder/McCaffrey/Lane and probably Burks as your top 6.

Best of all, if you ultimately part ways with Terry in '27, you can still have a 1st Rounder/Romeo/McCaffrey/Lane grouping signed already, and if your Tyson/Tate guy steps up, then you've got a 1/2 with them and Doubs, and a good potential 3/4 with McCaffrey/Lane. If Burks becomes a successful reclamation project, then you're even more set (and frankly Burks came from the Titans, it would not surprise me if he balls out in a new place).

 

[method man]

The more I think about it, the more I kinda just want us to go get Doubs and draft Tyson or Tate. Yes that forces us into FA more for edge, and you definitely still do an evaluation of Aiyuk, but if there's any concern about Aiyuk, then you can't risk wasting time on him. If his knee is shot, his knee is shot. Doubs is young, and can probably be a good #2 type option for a while. Pair him with a real blue chip talent from the draft and then for '26, assuming you don't pay Deebo and let N. Brown go, you've got Terry/Romeo/1st Rounder/McCaffrey/Lane and probably Burks as your top 6.

Best of all, if you ultimately part ways with Terry in '27, you can still have a 1st Rounder/Romeo/McCaffrey/Lane grouping signed already, and if your Tyson/Tate guy steps up, then you've got a 1/2 with them and Doubs, and a good potential 3/4 with McCaffrey/Lane. If Burks becomes a successful reclamation project, then you're even more set (and frankly Burks came from the Titans, it would not surprise me if he balls out in a new place).

If character concerns are part of your evaluation, Doubs quit on his team midseason last year and reappeared a week later.

On Aiyuk’s knee, no one outside the SF org will have a better idea outside of Jayden and AP. I really wouldn’t be surprised if BA and AP have a good relationship. The contract mess took place after AP had left

 

[method man]

Assuming BA’s knee is in solid condition, I’d absolutely try my best to pick him up. He probably wants to come here and has a strong relationship with our QB. His game fits well here as a physical route running menace who can also run block. Next year is his age 28 year

Guys like him don’t come free often in their 20s. Very rarely do we have an inside track to a player like him who fills a massive need

 

[DogofWar1]

If character concerns are part of your evaluation, Doubs quit on his team midseason last year and reappeared a week later.

On Aiyuk’s knee, no one outside the SF org will have a better idea outside of Jayden and AP. I really wouldn’t be surprised if BA and AP have a good relationship. The contract mess took place after AP had left

Yeah one nice thing is in terms of the list of people who know best what's happening with Aiyuk, Jayden and maybe AP are probably very high. Just gotta be cautious of rose-tinted glasses.

 

[RedWolf]

Please remember that Joe Gibbs had players on the team that were not angels but he knew how to deal with them

 

[Primus Porcus]

Not every 'diva' is a problem.. not every 'diva' is a solution either.


Some guys fit in places where they didnt fit in others.

I will say, if you take a hard look at Aiyuk and you invest in him, the swing is bigger than others, meaning the miss is bigger than others as well.

 

[skinsinparadise]

To me like Deebo, I'd do it as a one prove it year. Assuming his knee checks out. See what he's got. Him and Jayden are so close, I see that more of a positive in that than a negative. I recall at LSU Jayden ultimately was able to drag Nabers into his 5 am study sessions. He likely can pull off the same with Aiyuk to bring out the best out his pal like he did with Nabers.

 

[burgold]

I remember the first time I was allowed to sit in on one of the auditions for one of my plays. An actor performed their monologue and when he left I turned to the director and said, "What about him? He's pretty good." The director agreed, but said he'd never cast him.

"He is pretty good," he agreed, "but he's a pain in the arse and I'd have to live with him for six months. If he was an A+ you do it, but not for a B."

A+ Divas are worth it. Lesser divas aren't. Even B+ divas are probably not worth the aggravation.

 

[HTTR]

Bring him in! a quality player in his prime that fits a need is something we should be all over. Was willing to give picks and a big contract before, now maybe won’t take either. Considering the dearth of other options, he’s worth the risk for a couple of years during which we hopefully draft our WR1 of the future.

But please do a better medical evaluation than you did with Lattimore!!

 

[skinsinparadise]

Deebo was suppsoed to be a bit of a headache, he's been fine. Pickens with Dallas, etc. This team is so bereft of talent that I don't think they can discriminate that much. Heck you can argue now Terry is a diva.

To me its all about his knee.

 

[Boone]

Hard pass on Brandon Aiyuk. He tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus mid-2024 and hasn't stepped onto the field since. He will be 28 next season. So first concern is whether he will be anywhere near the same player he was prior to that. Secondly, he reportedly was a total douche in his holdout that ended up getting him a new contract last year. But my biggest concern is that they've voided his 2026 contract. That means two things - first of all that he hasn't lived up to the terms of the contract (basic player expectations like communicating with the coaching and front office staff, following the agreed upon rehab plan, attending team meetings, etc...). Secondly it means he's not behaving professionally and is spitting in the face of the front office that just paid him bigtime. The 49ers, coming off caving to his demands and giving him a big shiny new contract, are done with him. They will release him and wash their hands of him.

We don't need his kind of vibe in DC, especially given we don't know if he can even still be a top tier WR. I don't care if Jayden loves the guy... this is exactly the kind of scenario where Adam Peters has to ignore the lure of what 'could be' and look at the guy's history and focus on what 'probably would be'.

 

[Discobob]

There’s been smoke there for years now. They thought throwing money at it would make the problem go away. It’s also not been all sunshine and rainbows for Deebo in his tenure there. I speculate their issue is with Kyle. He’s the only one on that staff that is untouchable (for now).

No doubt.... I guess my reaction was to the fact that some fans are labeling Aiyuk a malcontent. I think that's a massive oversimplification on a a number of fronts:

1) He was a 24-25 year old "kid" when these problems occurred...any of us would kick the ass of our 24 year old selves... people do grow up

2) The Shanahan's are not know for their hard ass approach, and it's entirely possible that Aiyuk got a disproportionate amount of this from Kyle.

3) Even rational, levelheaded adults have personal disagreements that they can't resolve.

Of course none of this eliminates the fact that there are genuine "bad apples" in the NFL (see late stage Antonio Brown), but it's always worth digging a bit deeper before you write off a player.
So... Id personally love the team to do their due diligence and see if they can make it work for Aiyuk.

 

[Boone]

I get that argument. I think Kyle is a stubborn guy just like Dad was. My way or the highway and that doesn’t appeal to some players. But Aiyuk isn’t a kid. And they just paid him big time. Reports are since his injury he’s not done the basic things expected of players. They voided his 2026 contract. You don’t do that after negotiating a big deal unless a player has gone out of their way to disregard the stipulations of that contract. Aiyuk has not protested the decision. He wants out and the voiding of the contract moves that ball forward. But he also likely knows he has violated the terms of his brand new mega million dollar contract. Is that evidence of 'growing up'?

I think his intelligence level is a serious question at this point. And I think it calls into serious question what this guy is all about. Team doesn’t seem to be it. Bringing Antonio Brown into the conversation ... what's the relevance there? No one is saying Aiyuk is Antonio Brown - one of the dumbest and worst guys ever to get big money to play the game. Not being Antonio Brown doesn't make someone a good fit for this locker room.

 

[Boone]

And I get I am strident on Aiyuk - but I feel like a counter-argument is warranted. As fans, we tend to be blinded and seduced by raw talent, and want to talk ourselves into all kinds of moves when the warning flags are there for anyone to see. Aiyuk is chock full of warning flags. Doesn't mean I'm right, but it does argue Peters should put a lot of thought into that kind of move.

 

[NoCalSkins]

The difference between Deebo & Aiyuk to me is that Deebo was seen the whole time as more of a gadget player on offense. Not quite a traditional WR, not quite a RB, but can do both and is a threat with the ball in his hands regardless of how it gets there. I am not surprised nor disappointed that his production went down when the players who are supposed to be ahead of him started dropping because his role is something completely different & unique. Aiyuk on the other hand should not be handed a hefty contract unless there is some kind of certainty that his knee injury hasn't eliminated his ability to be the WR he was a couple seasons ago. If I knew for sure we would be getting THAT Aiyuk? Sure throw him some money to play opposite McLaurin next season.

I personally have been fine with Deebo Samuels this season when he is being utilized. Other than the short term injury, I think he has performed just fine in the role he was signed for and even has been a little better running routes as a WR than I expected. I'd be down to sign him to a 2-3 season extension but not with the type of contract that would hamper the ability to sign a legitimate #2 WR opposite of McLaurin (or even a true #1 if the organization feels Terry is destined to be more of a high end #2 going forward).

 

[DogofWar1]

On the one hand, a one-year prove it deal makes a lot of sense for Aiyuk.

On the other hand, I'm concerned it also puts us in a bit of a bind. We just got through Terry's situation, and as much as I love Terry, so far things aren't great. If Aiyuk balls out and earns a big deal, fine, but he'll also be 29 going into the 2027 season, so if you give him, say 96/3 or something, it's similarly risky to what we've had happen with Terry, and Terry didn't even have an injury history to concern us with.

Like sure it could work out great and we could all be singing kumbaya but Murphy's Law suggests the moment we pay him something will go wrong.

And personally, I'd prefer a younger guy who, if something goes wrong, they've got time to recover and come back, while with Aiyuk, if he plays well in his 28 season, then loses, say, 6 games in his 29 season, BOOM he's 30 and hits the soft wall.

Not everyone can be Jerry Rice.

The nightmare scenario, which I'm not tooooooo concerned about but, again, Murphy's Law is in effect, what happens if we have a Terry style standoff with Aiyuk and it drives a wedge between the FO and Jayden?

 

[NoCalSkins]

The challenge for AP is crafting the roster to be competitive in the short term without kneecapping the ability to build a sustainable championship window for the term in the long term.

I think AP did what he could do in 2024 based on what was handed off to him, and lot of circumstances ended up best case scenario including Jayden Daniels being so good so soon, but going into 2025 it would be fair to suggest the organization had too high of confidence that running back basically the same make up would yield similar results, and who knows, if healthy, this might have still been a playoff team, but a lot of the things we were skeptical about going into 2024 seemingly just took an extra season to show up.

 

[Conn]

I don’t think anyone will be lining up to pay Aiyuk much given his knee and this mess in SF. If AP wants to give him a shot, I think you pay him very little and make him grovel for it and be an exemplary citizen, he’ll need to prove it to the league and will want somewhere familiar to do it. If he balls out, great problem to have, we might be more ready to start the comp pick carousel by then if we don’t want to pay him. If he’s a pain in the ass, you move on. And you don’t let rostering him change your process on draft pick selection at all if there’s a highly graded WR available.

But we’re too bereft of talent to turn our noses up at opportunities. And he’ll want us more than we want him, which is a power position we’re rarely in.

Homework must be done, though.