A new report confirmed what we largely knew about how badly Brandon Aiyuk blew his chance to join the Washington Commanders this offseason.
The Commanders signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs on Wednesday, once and for all ending speculation about Aiyuk potentially being traded to Washington. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that Aiyuk was, in fact, a consideration for the Commanders earlier in the offseason, but his erratic social media activity scared them off.
“At one point Washington was definitely considering Brandon Aiyuk. A lot of people thought that would get done,” Schefter said. “Then there were a bunch of social media posts speaking social media that helped create the opportunity for Stefon Diggs in Washington.”
The Commanders Heavily Considered Pursing Brandon Aiyuk Before His Social Media Buzz. Per, @AdamSchefter
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) August 7, 2026
“At one point Washington was definitely considering Brandon Aiyuk, I think a lot of people thought that would get done, then there were a bunch of social media posts… pic.twitter.com/yePlq11wtO
There were times during the offseason that Aiyuk’s move to the Commanders looked inevitable, which would have reunited him with former college teammate Jayden Daniels. In early July, however, the content of his posts turned somewhat bizarre and alarming, and the Commanders shifted their interest toward Diggs not long after that. Aiyuk appears to have essentially posted his way out of Washington’s plans.
The Commanders have not confirmed this themselves, and they cannot comment on this since Aiyuk is still contracted to the San Francisco 49ers. However, we got a pretty good idea of how badly Aiyuk burned his bridges anyway.
Aiyuk has not played since 2024 due to a torn ACL and MCL. His best season came in 2023, when he caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns and earned second-team All-Pro honors. The 49ers have made it very clear that he will not play for them again, so his NFL future is murky, to say the least.
