Brandon Aiyuk seems to have eyes on resuming his NFL career.
The disgruntled receiver filed paperwork for reinstatement and plans to report to the San Francisco 49ers training facility on Friday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday.
Aiyuk hasn’t played a game in more than two years since going down with a knee injury in October 2024 and has been on the reserve/left squad list after leaving the 49ers late last season.
The team now faces a choice to keep Aiyuk, release him or find a trade partner by Tuesday's deadline.
Aiyuk hired high-powered agent Drew Rosenhaus on Monday, a sign he was ready to return.
The Niners had previously voided $27 million guaranteed in Aiyuk’s contract for 2026 for failing to participate in meetings and other team activities last summer when he was rehabilitating his knee injury.
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension just before the start of the 2024 season following a lengthy contract hold-in that kept him out of training camp. He was coming off a 2023 season when he had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns and was a second-team All-Pro.
Aiyuk had only 25 catches for 374 yards in seven games in 2024 before getting injured. The 28-year-old Aiyuk has 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs since being drafted in the first round in 2020.
--with files from The Associated Press
