The Brandon Aiyuk saga in San Francisco is taking a turn that feels more and more like a goodbye.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan opened up recently about the wide receiver’s prolonged absence from the team, and the tone wasn’t exactly optimistic. Since tearing his ACL in Week 7 against the Chiefs, Aiyuk has been largely out of the picture – not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, too.

“I didn’t get to hang out with Aiyuk much since he tore his ACL,” Shanahan said. “Been trying to get him back to our team since then, and haven’t been able to pull that off.

He’s been extremely distant since he got hurt. Was hoping it would happen once he got healthy, but it never happened.”

That’s not what you want to hear from a head coach talking about one of his top offensive weapons. And it paints a picture of a relationship that’s been strained for quite some time – maybe even before the injury.

Let’s rewind. Aiyuk was supposed to be a key piece for San Francisco this season, a dynamic playmaker in an offense that thrives on timing, space, and yards after the catch.

But after just four games, his season was cut short. The expectation was that he might return somewhere around the midpoint of the year, but that comeback never materialized.

And now, it’s not just the injury that’s keeping him off the field – it’s the growing distance between player and team.

Former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman didn’t mince words when discussing the situation on his podcast.

“It looks like his time with the San Francisco 49ers is coming to an end,” Sherman said. “I have a hard time seeing a way to mend the relationship or the partnership from either side.”

Sherman’s not wrong to question where things went off the rails. Aiyuk signed a significant deal before the season, but there were already whispers of trade talks swirling around him even then. That kind of noise doesn’t just go away, especially when a player feels like he’s been dangled in negotiations rather than embraced as a cornerstone.

“Brandon obviously feels slighted and frustrated,” Sherman continued. “For the life of me, I cannot understand why. They paid him a lot of money to play receiver in the National Football League.”

But money doesn’t always fix everything. In fact, sometimes it only highlights the cracks.

If Aiyuk felt undervalued or uncertain about his role before the injury, the rehab process – often isolating and frustrating – may have only deepened that divide. And if communication between player and team broke down during that stretch, it’s no surprise things now feel unrepairable.

Sherman summed it up bluntly: “It felt like a split was inevitable at the time. Maybe things mended a little bit when he got paid, and everyone was happy, but even the way the injury happened stood out.

I think he played four games, got banged up, and has not seen the field since. Everything that has come out of the 49ers camp has been pretty negative.

When every conversation and every interaction turns negative, it feels destined to end in a split.”

That’s the reality facing the 49ers now. A talented receiver in his prime, under contract, but disconnected from the team in a way that feels deeper than just an injury. And a coaching staff that seems to be running out of ways to bring him back into the fold.

Whether this ends in a trade, a release, or a surprise reconciliation, one thing is clear: the Brandon Aiyuk era in San Francisco is on life support – and the 49ers may already be preparing for what comes next.