Some bizarre things have been taking place with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk over the past few days.
An NBC Bay Area story published on Monday alleged Aiyuk had unfollowed the 49ers on all of his social media accounts. The story has since been edited once it was revealed that the statements were false.
Aiyuk hasn't played since Oct. 20 last year, as he's recovering from a major knee injury, but the trade rumors are swirling around him ahead of the early November deadline.
MORE: 49ers predicted to trade for elite 30-year-old edge rusher as Nick Bosa replacement
Did Brandon Aiyuk unfollow the 49ers on Instagram?
Here is a little bit of what NBC Bay Area wrote about Aiyuk:
“The star wideout deleted all evidence of the 49ers from his Instagram account and has unfollowed the team. This is not a new phenomenon. Aiyuk has unfollowed the franchise before — during his hold-in while undergoing contract negotiations last summer."
The story takes a twist with the details that Aiyuk has been absent from practice for the last two weeks, but Brad Graham, who runs 49ers' social media account, quickly debunked the allegations of Aiyuk unfollowing San Francisco.
In the tweet, Graham explained that Aiyuk never actually refollowed the team's social media account, and that his Instagram account has looked the same for months.
The NBC Bay Area writer confirmed that they were wrong about the timeline and adjusted the story.
Regarding the detail that Aiyuk has been absent from practice, the writer added that Aiyuk "has not been out there during the open portion of practice when media is able to watch."
This report is patently false
— Brad (@Graham_SFN) October 13, 2025
- Brandon Aiyuk never refollowed the 49ers
- His IG has looked the same for months
- He has a link to his profile page directly pointing back to 49ers
What a random thing to spin while being completely wrong on every point made about his SM https://t.co/iWKh5KesGn pic.twitter.com/NGfGWRuAKS
While the story of Aiyuk unfollowing the 49ers turned out to be not true, it would not be surprising if there is some real growing frustration between the two sides.
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