Brandon Aiyuk’s time with the San Francisco 49ers appears to be nearing its end, even if there’s no official announcement yet. The wide receiver has openly criticized the organization, calling it “stupid” and “dumb,” while publicly expressing his preference for the Washington Commanders as his next destination. And when tight end George Kittle was asked about Aiyuk playing for the Commanders heading into the 2026 season, his response made the 49ers’ stance on the situation clear.

“The last time I saw Aiyuk was, call it Week 6, 7, or 8. I don’t really know,” Kittle said on Pardon My Take. “I used to make it a habit of mine to go out early in the morning before meetings to watch him train because he’d always be out there early, and I watched him run over 22 miles an hour and stop on a dime. So, he’s still got it, or at least that was a year, eight months ago, so I don’t really know. But you guys have fun with that, I guess . . . You have fun with all that comes with it.”

But Kittle’s stance on his teammate wasn’t without caveat. Right after Kittle’s remarks, former NFL star Emmanuel Acho found them a bit strange, considering the Niners’ tight end always backs up his teammates.

“George Kittle’s comments on Aiyuk tell you everything you need to know: Stay the hell away,” Acho said. “George Kittle be lying to protect the guilty. George Kittle is one hell of a teammate because, regardless of the circumstance, he’s going to protect his teammate. So, what this tells me is simple. He no longer views Brandon Aiyuk as his teammate. Period.”

While responding to Kittle’s statement, Acho used quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s example. Ahead of the 2021 NFL draft, the Niners had traded up to the third overall pick, with reports suggesting that San Francisco would draft Trey Lance to replace Jimmy G. But when Kittle was asked about Garoppolo, the tight end raved about his quarterback. Eventually, the 49ers did pick Lance with the third overall pick. Still, Kittle didn’t shy away from backing up Garoppolo.

“He was consistent every single day. He was the same guy every single day,” Kittle said in 2022. “He’s been nothing but incredibly kind to every single person [who has] come in and out of our building, whether it’s Trey Lance, Nate Sudfeld, other quarterbacks, tight ends.”

Fast forward to now, and Acho still thinks that George Kittle is the kind of player who will defend his teammates no matter what. With Aiyuk, however, things seem to be a bit different. In fact, Acho believes that Kittle was optimistic about the receiver’s health, but eventually refused to dive deep into Aiyuk’s situation, given that he met the WR eight months ago.

At the time of Aiyuk’s contract holdout with the 49ers, Kittle had fully supported his teammate, noting why he is an important part of the 49ers offense,

“He (Aiyuk) does everything you want him to do as a wide receiver, including taking touchdowns from me once in a while, which I’m totally OK with. But he’s just such a dynamic receiver, and he’s just such a very important part of our offense. So, yes, getting Brandon Aiyuk the money that he deserves — I hope nothing but the best for him. There’s, unfortunately, not much that I can do to help put up with that, except just cheer him on from the sidelines, and hopefully we figure something out because he’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve had,” Kittle told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

“When you have a guy that does all that type of stuff and just sets the tempo and sets the tone — those guys are really important to your offense.”

Considering Kittle isn’t backing up Aiyuk this time suggests that the tight end and the 49ers are done with the receiver’s drama ahead of the 2026 season. And the writing has already been on the wall for the past few weeks, as Aiyuk is taking continuous digs at his team, while making his feelings for the Commanders crystal clear:

“Go Commanders! Go Commanders! Go Commanders! Raise Hail! Take Command!”

Now, the 49ers’ general manager, John Lynch, has already noted earlier this offseason that “I think it’s safe to say [Aiyuk]’s played his last snap with the 49ers.” That means the 49ers want to part ways with the receiver. Brandon Aiyuk wants a way out of San Francisco to join Washington. Both parties just need to make it official.