The San Francisco 49ers came up short in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, obviously an incredibly disappointing result for the players on the team. And now it appears that star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk may be questioning his future with the team.
Aiyuk is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract with the 49ers in the upcoming 2024-25 season. Naturally, there are questions around whether he wants to stick it out with this team in the future, or perhaps seek other opportunities in free agency.
He was asked about his future on Tuesday by Matt Lively of CBS Sports Bay Area, offering a very vague answer that certainly should raise some red flags for 49ers fans.
After some of the messages put out on social media, I asked #49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk if he had a message he wanted to put out and if he wants to remain with the team. #FTTB | @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/tE8IgynW20
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) February 13, 2024
“If that is the right move, yeah,” said Aiyuk when asked directly if his hope was to stay in San Francisco.
When asked to expand on what exactly the “right move” would look like, he said that being a champion is a big factor in staying with the team.
Emotions are obviously running high for 49ers players immediately after their devastating Super Bowl loss. So it is hard to fault Aiyuk for responding this way to this question.
However, this may mean that Aiyuk will look elsewhere in the future if the 49ers aren’t able to get over the hump next season and win a championship.
If Aiyuk were to leave San Francisco after next season, it would be a huge loss for them. Aiyuk had a breakout year in 2023, recording a career-high 1,342 receiving yards on 75 catches and seven touchdowns in the regular season.
