Now that the 2026 NFL Draft has ended, teams can continue to fill out their rosters with undrafted free agent signees and other veterans who still have not signed contracts for the upcoming season. This also includes the Washington Commanders, who entered the three-day event with a total of six selections.
As expected, the Commanders still have some needs to address after a disastrous 2025 season that ended with only five wins. Still, as all teams do, the Commanders have a list of players they want to add to the roster.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs have "significant interest" in signing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk from the San Francisco 49ers.
The point is, the 49ers have not released Aiyuk. San Francisco's front office strongly prefers to trade the two-time 1,000-yard receiver. Yet, until now, no one wanted to offer anything of value to the 28-year-old, who wasn't able to play a single snap last season due to a knee injury.
It also doesn't help that Aiyuk is in just the second year of a four-year, $120 million contract. Teams first want Aiyuk to be able to prove he's healthy before taking on a $13.6 million cap hit for a player who wasn't available last season.
Thus, teams are playing the waiting game, hoping the 49ers feel like they have no choice but to release a player who finished as a second-team All-Pro in 2023.
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