Disgruntled receiver Brandon Aiyuk hires a new agent in possible step to a return to the NFL

Brandon Aiyuk has hired Drew Rosenhaus as his new agent in a sign that the disgruntled receiver wants to get back on the field and play.

Aiyuk hasn’t played a game in more than two years since going down with a knee injury in October 2024 and has been on the reserve/left squad list after leaving the San Francisco 49ers late last season.

Aiyuk had fired agent Ryan Williams during his long-running dispute with the 49ers and was without representation until Rosenhaus said on Monday that he had been hired.

Aiyuk remains under contract to the 49ers if he applies to come off the reserve/left squad list and is reinstated by the NFL. San Francisco general manager John Lynch has previously said he doesn’t expect Aiyuk to play for the 49ers again.

The Niners had previously voided $27 million guaranteed in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026 for failing to participate in meetings and other team activities last summer when he was rehabilitating his knee injury.

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension just before the start of the 2024 season following a lengthy contract hold-in that kept him out of training camp. He was coming off a 2023 season when he had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns and was a second-team All-Pro.

Aiyuk had only 25 catches for 374 yards in seven games in 2024 before getting injured. The 28-year-old Aiyuk has 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs since being drafted in the first round in 2020.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here