The Seattle Seahawks are a team that doesn't like to disrupt a rather great culture. If a player sees himself as above or separate from the team, that player probably won't be with the team for long. This isn't the case for the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk, though, and San Fran should have taken Richard Sherman's advice to resolve the situation.
Aiyuk has been a thorn in the side of his employer for a couple of years now. He held out in 2024, finally got the huge deal he wanted, followed that by tearing his ACL and MCL after playing seven games two years ago, and hasn't played since.
Most players might try to rush back, understanding the NFL can be a cruel business, and teams might decide to move on quickly. That is especially true for the perennially contending 49ers, but instead, San Francisco let the Aiyuk situation fester. They could have, as Sherman suggested last year, traded the wide receiver.
Seattle Seahawks icon Richard Sherman offered the San Francisco 49ers the kind of advice they should have followed
"If I’m Brandon Aiyuk, I’d want to be in that situation where I’m being traded on the contract I already have," said Sherman. "Would you rather be cut and have to convince a team you’re worth $30 million a year, or get traded under the contract you already signed? If you can get a seventh-round pick, I think that works in both the 49ers' best business interest and Brandon Aiyuk’s best business interest."
Wouldn't San Francisco general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan be happy with that? At least, they would have a player on the roster who wants to be there and is actually going to play. Aiyuk is seemingly closer to never playing another down for the 49ers than being productive in Santa Clara.
Of course, maybe other teams have seen the fiasco playing out in the Bay Area and want no part of that. Brandon Aiyuk is capable of excellence. He had 1,342 yards receiving in 2023, and he's averaged a good 14.6 yards per catch over the course of his career.
That production doesn't mean a team would be happy having a player who is capable of disrupting team culture. The Seattle Seahawks would certainly not want that. Almost no chance exists that Seattle offers San Francisco anything in a trade for the wide receiver. The Los Angeles Rams probably wouldn't either.
Not that any of the above is a grave concern for Seahawks fans. Instead, 12s might root for the 49ers-Aiyuk mess to get even worse. Watching an NFC West rival, especially a talented one, be forced to deal with unnecessary drama is a fun thing.
Of course, Richard Sherman knows well how both the Seahawks and 49ers' organizations work. He played for both teams. It might be telling that the great cornerback has decided to keep his home in the Pacific Northwest, though, and visits Seattle's practice often. Sherman knows which franchise is the better one to work with.
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