SI’s Grant Cohn is as plugged in on the Brandon Aiyuk drama as anyone in the Bay Area…and in the case of the 49ers vs. Aiyuk, could the disgruntled receiver ACTUALLY finally have shown he has a point?
“He may have a point or a grievance, but he has caused more damage to himself than the Niners have caused him, and he’s going to have to live with that for the rest of his life. Maybe he can salvage this and get himself to Washington and it will all be a big joke, but it’s not funny right now,” Cohn told BMitch and Steve Czaban on Wednesday. “Since July 4, he hasn’t posted anything stupid online, and actually posted something written that made sense and actually explained that he was healthy and willing to play last year, and the Niners could’ve had him back if they gave him his guarantees. Interesting choice by them, and if he would do more stuff like that, he’d be in Washington, but when he says things like he’s not going to file for reinstatement – are you announcing your retirement or do you not understand you have to do that?”
Maybe, Cohn wonders, it his lack of nonsense this week is because ‘he hasn’t had an agent and maybe he’s finally listening to someone,’ so he gives Aiyuk the benefit of the doubt – but the problem is that those last posts over the holiday weekend took shots at not only his friend, Jayden Daniels, but also Jayden’s mom!
“Going online and taking a shot at Jayden Daniels and then saying the thing about his mom was really stupid,” Cohn said, before revealing that she was liking posts on her own socials taking shots at Aiyuk, including one Cohn made. “She un-reposted that one, she must’ve hit it by accident, but she clearly was watching it or it got her attention. She’s a classic helicopter mom, she’s very protective of her son, which is her right.”
And also in Cohn’s mind…why would Aiyuk do that if this is supposedly the one guy he wants to join?
“Why would she want Brandon Aiyuk in his life?” Cohn said. “How is AIyuk gonna help Jayden? I can see Jayden helping Aiyuk, if he was nice about it, but he’s not, so I can see her saying, ‘no, we don’t need any of this.’”
So overall, Cohn thinks it is still possible Aiyuk could end up in DC, although that possibility was better last week, and he’s ‘down but not out’ on the receiver.
“I’m down but not out on him. He’s very erratic, but let’s see if he can get it all together at the very end,” Cohn said. “He does still have three weeks, and he can apply for reinstatement, and people get second chances; he’s running his mouth and saying stupid stuff, but he’ll get a second chance if he can just take care of business.”
