OPINION:
Everybody loves a good second-chance story.
There are movies made about second chances — “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Rocky,” among many more.
People have written books about second chances — “A Christmas Carol” and “The Kite Runner.”
Tales of redemption are a common theme in music as well — “Take a Chance on Me” and “Against All Odds.”
Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters loves a good second-chance story. He may write one about receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk is the once-celebrated San Francisco 49ers receiver who is in need of a second chance — at least Peters believes so.
Asked at the NFL combine this week in Indianapolis if he would give Aiyuk — who is coming off an injury and a damaged relationship with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch — a second chance, Peters responded, “Aiyuk is a player on another team under contract, so I can’t comment on that. Second chances, yeah, I think everybody on Earth deserves a second chance.”
Peters was asked about Commanders’ defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, who, like Aiyuk, was a San Francisco first-round pick who didn’t work out there as they had hoped, though I wouldn’t call the Commanders signing the defensive tackle last year a classic second-chance story. “Kinlaw earned his second chance and really, you know, he earned every single bit of it,” Peters said. “And so, I wouldn’t kind of call his a second chance, so to speak.
“I think because I had the familiarity with him and understanding the type of person and player and competitor he is, that that helped factor into that decision,” Peters said. “But I think he earned every single bit of that by the way he came back from his injuries and everything to be a really, really good player.”
Then Peters got back to Aiyuk, who he knows very well from his days in the 49ers front office.
“So, in terms of Brandon, love the person, but can’t really comment on the player,” he said, carefully treading around the tampering minefield.
I don’t think that will matter much. The 49ers are looking to get out of the Aiyuk business. They’re not interested anymore in the player or particularly the person.
“I think it’s safe to say that he’s played his last snap with the Niners,” 49ers GM John Lynch said at their season-ending press conference. “It’s unfortunate. A situation that just went awry. And I will look long and hard at what could have been done differently, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. And I think that this was a case where that happened.”
Aiyuk tore ligaments in his right knee in week seven of the 2024 season and, according to Shanahan, cut himself off from the team after that.
“We’ve been trying to get him back to our team since then and haven’t been able to pull that off,” Shanahan told reporters in December. “Haven’t totally had the opportunity to get him part of our team. He has been extremely distant since he got hurt. Was hoping it would happen once he got healthy, but it never happened.”
That’s alarming if you are considering investing money in this 27-year-old who caught 269 passes in his first four seasons, led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023 with 1,342 yards, averaging 17.9 yards per catch.
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension in August 2024, but struggled in the first part of the season and then went down with the torn knee ligaments. Since then, it’s been ugly, with allegations of failing to fulfill rehabilitation requirements and the team voiding $27 million in contract guarantees for 2026.
Whatever Aiyuk is going through, he will have to recognize that he is a second-chance story, with a team-friendly price tag that often accompanies redemption.
This may not sound like a player Washington, which has made it clear that the culture of the team is a top priority, should be interested in.
But the Commanders, despite being flush with cap cash, have more free agents on their roster than nearly every other team in the league. It would seem that their investments should go on the defensive side of the ball, after two years of horrific defense.
They need help everywhere, offensively and defensively.
But in 2024, Peters put together a functional offensive roster on a thin budget that became the most feared offense in the league – thanks in part to rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels. If Daniels remains healthy this year, his presence should lift an offense not stacked with elite skill players.
Aiyuk was elite before he was hurt, and already has a relationship with Daniels from their playing days at Arizona State. Daniels has already cryptically suggested he would love to see his former teammate in Washington — a second-chance story Peters seems interested in writing.
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