Wide Receiver Drama not a New Act for 49ers

Something about receivers...

With the news breaking that the 49ers were voiding the guaranteed money in WR Brandon Aiyuk’s contract, Aiyuk becomes another in a long line of 49ers receivers that has gained attention in a negative light. Since 2000, when Jerry Rice played his last game in the scarlett and gold, the team has found highly productive, albeit distracting players to fill out their receivers room. As we await the finality of the Brandon Aiyuk saga, we take a look back at the soap opera that is playing wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers.

Terrell Owens

The heir apparent to Jerry Rice took the torch from the GOAT by recording a then NFL record 20 catches in what would be Rice’s last game in Candlestick Park against the Bears. Over the course of the next two seasons, Owens would amass 180 receptions for 2,402 yards and 22 touchdowns. But Owens was not satisfied with his production as he lashed out at quarterback Jeff Garcia for his ability as well as making personal comments.

Owens head coach Steve Mariucci was also a target, as Owens stated that Mariucci was the worst coach he had ever had. Everything came to a head following the 2003 season as the 49ers had enough of his antics. Following a failed trade attempt to the Baltimore Ravens, Owens was sent to Philadelphia to join the Eagles and quarterback Donovan McNabb. While the pairing started strong, Owens became critical of McNabb as well and would eventually find his way out of Philly.

Rashaun Woods

Upon Owens’ exit from the team, the 49ers looked to the future by selecting Oklahoma State receiver Rashaun Woods in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft. The first team All American had quite the college career with 293 catches for 4,414 yards and 42 touchdowns. Unfortunately, his college ability would not translate in the NFL as he would only find seven catches for 160 yards and one touchdown with the 49ers in 2004. After missing the 2005 season with a thumb injury, Woods was traded to the San Diego Chargers for CB Sammy Davis.

Michael Crabtree

With their first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected Crabtree with the tenth overall pick. While there was excitement about Crabtree coming to the bay, it would not go as planned. In a time before slotted rookie contracts, Crabtree negotiated with the team and was unable to come to an agreement prior to training camp and would hold out well into the season. With threats of re-entering the draft in 2010, and accusations of tampering by the New York Jets, the 49ers would not get Crabtree signed until October 7th of 2009. This contract was finally signed in large part due to a friend of his agent opening lines of communication between both sides. That friend: MC Hammer. Towards the end of his tenure, Crabtree became vocal about wanting to play with a more talented quarterback than what the 49ers had in Colin Kaepernick.

Randy Moss

The 49ers brought Randy Moss in for the 2012 season. Moss would play a small role for the team with 28 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns. Moss was relatively low key with the 49ers…. Until Super Bowl media day. Moss would make it clear that he felt under-utilized and was not happy with his role on the team. This would be his only season in San Francisco and his last in the NFL.

Deebo Samuel

Samuel was a 2019 second-round pick of the team and immediately made a name for himself with a very diverse skill set, earning himself a reputation as a ‘wide back’. His 2021 season was nothing short of spectacular with 77 catches for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns as well as 59 rushing attempts for 365 yards and another eight touchdowns.

With a truly spectacular season behind him, Samuel was up for a contract and his relationship with the team seemed to devolve. In a very public contract negotiation, Samuel requested a trade and made public gestures insinuating that he was not going to return to the 49ers. On the eve of training camp, Samuel finally signed a three-year contract extension. Samuel played two more seasons with the 49ers before again requesting a trade and being dealt to the Washington Commanders.

Brandon Aiyuk

Aiyuk was drafted in 2020 draft and quickly rumors spread that he was in Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse. Towards the end of his rookie season, Aiyuk would showcase his abilities as he would take on a healthy workload as COVID protocols thinned out the roster. Following consecutive 1,000 plus yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, it was time for Aiyuk to negotiate a new deal.

With very cryptic and bizarre social media posts, Aiyuk was doing his best to engineer a trade out of the bay. While multiple teams submitted offers, Aiyuk declined a trade to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and New England. Finally, Kyle Shanahan got involved at the last minute when a trade was imminent and the 49ers and Aiyuk agreed to a massive contract extension.

Upon his arrival to training camp, Aiyuk’s actions still showed he did not want to remain in Santa Clara. He famously wore the wrong shorts to practice and had a public meltdown as Shanahan forced home to change.

Early in the 2024 season, Aiyuks lack of effort stood out in games as he was dropping routine passes and seemingly had no interest in his role with the team. Aiyuk suffered a horrible knee injury against Kansas City and has not returned to the field to date. As the team has voided his guaranteed money past this season, Aiyuk will most likely never take the field again for the 49ers.

Jauan Jennings

In 2024, Jennings became the primary target in the 49ers’ offense, falling just short of a 1,000 yard season. With his ascension in the offense, and just months after signing a contract extension, Jennings made it public that he wanted another new contract.

After showing up to training camp for the first few practices, suddenly Jennings had an injury that would cause him to miss the remainder of training camp. Jennings would continue to work towards a more lucrative deal, until the 49ers would only give him a few more million in guaranteed money ensuring that his contract will end after this season.