It’s only reasonable for folks to question if the Washington Commanders will be able to bring back the two former Arizona State Sun Devils teammates, Jayden Daniels and Brandon Aiyuk, as friends.
Whether or not the Commanders decide to add Aiyuk to their squad in the offseason, it becomes evident that the receiver is embroiled in a contract dispute with the San Francisco 49ers.
READ MORE: Audacious Forecast Points to Washington
In a recent NFL Live show, former player and analyst Ryan Clark provided some details regarding Aiyuk’s contract status and Daniels’ indirect role in recent events, which briefly brought the matter to the forefront.
“The San Francisco 49ers and them are actually having a meeting today. Clark stated on Monday, “He and his representatives, Ryan Williams of Athletes First and Brandon Aiyuk, informed us that he intended to organise this meeting up himself. “And he said that he is taking these negotiations personally, that the way they have negotiated with him, the way that they have sat down with The Pivot (a podcast that Clark cohosts),”
have impacted and affected him by explaining to him why he is worth what he is worth. He states that if the San Francisco 49ers are prepared to make a trade, he would prefer to play in San Francisco but would be happy to play elsewhere. And let me tell you something: he didn’t enter the room by himself when he sat with us. It was Brandon Aiyuk first. Jayden Daniels, the quarterback for the Commanders, came in second. Although I’m not a tea leaf reader, it sounds like Brandon Aiyuk might be open to performing in Washington.”
“…the way that that sounds is that Brandon Aiyuk wouldn’t mind playing in Washington.”
— Ryan Clark, NFL Live on ESPN
To begin with, there is no reason to believe that Aiyuk and Daniels attended his podcast appearance together. The two are obviously very close and are well-known buddies. And Aiyuk ‘wouldn’t mind playing in Washington,’ of course. Who among us wouldn’t like to play with their closest buddy?
Therefore, nothing is visible there. When Adam Schefter took a turn to speak, there was something else that drew our attention in the conversation.
“There were some conversations at one point between the 49ers and the Commanders,” Schefter stated. Despite their curiosity, the Commanders chose not to proceed with the deal. Thus, the 49ers were unwilling to let go of Brandon Aiyuk in any case. I am aware that he had a conversation with Ryan Clark, also known as “RC,” but the truth is that even if he claimed the 49ers were done with him, it is just untrue. They sincerely hope to see him return. And RC says they are getting together today. The 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will be present at that meeting.”
The confirmation that conversations have taken place between Washington and San Francisco is intriguing, as many believe that this combination would make the most sense should a deal need to be done. And not just because of the relationship between Lynch and Commanders general manager Adam Peters, but also because of the one between Aiyuk and Daniels.
Schefter talks about the 49ers’ want for Aiyuk to stay, but he also talks about the Commanders’ desire to develop through the NFL Draft. They need to preserve as much capital as possible to accomplish that, and giving up at least two future draft picks for a receiver with Aiyuk’s calibre of receiving contradicts that strategy.
The wise move for Peters in this situation would be to either wait until the California relationship deteriorates to the point where he can acquire Aiyuk this offseason for almost nothing, or he could wait until the following offseason when the 49ers are unlikely to franchise tag the receiver and we can determine whether he truly wants to play with Daniels once more. This is not a one-year project in Washington.
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