Brandon Aiyuk’s senseless mom joke should end Commanders talk as retirement sprint rivals Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown’s mid-game exit is probably the most spectacular NFL retirement of all time.

Persuaded to join Tom Brady for one last shot at glory in Tampa Bay, the seven-time Pro Bowler notoriously took off his jersey, shoulder pads, and gloves before running down the tunnel.

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Head coach Bruce Arians stated in his post-game press conference that Brown was “no longer a Buc” and that was that.

Now we are watching a Dollar Tree version.

Terrell Owens, OBJ, Ochocinco, AJ Brown. The diva receiver is nothing new.

The Eagles were willing to accept Brown’s occasional outbursts and rode him to two Super Bowls before Mike Vrabel coughed up a first-rounder to secure a reunion in New England.

But what happens when the talent doesn’t match the risk?

In 2024, Brandon Aiyuk kicked up a massive fuss and saw the Niners consider shipping him to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers before ultimately agreeing to a four-year, $120 million extension.

But after a suffering a devastating right knee injury in October 2024, the team voided his guarantees for 2026 due to missed meetings.

Aiyuk has been AWOL ever since and it is clear that his time in the Bay Area is over.

San Francisco bided its time looking to secure a trade partner with no real incentive to release the wideout, who has responded with a furious series of social media outbursts and compared his situation to modern-day slavery.

GM John Lynch’s phone does not appear to have been ringing, and Aiyuk may have talked himself out of his last option.

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The Arizona State alum has been talking up his relationship with Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels — a former Sun Devil.

“I think every time he opens his mouth, he damages his standing with other teams and he scares other teams from bringing him into their organization,” wrote ESPN insider Adam Schefter. “In speaking with teams, everybody’s saying ‘What’s wrong with this guy right now?’. It’s unsettling to watch him and it’s scary to see how he’s handling himself.

“By the way, he’s still a member of the 49ers, the team that paid him and he’s saying ‘Go Commanders’… I even asked Washington their thoughts on signing Brandon Aiyuk, maybe for all we know they’re planning on doing it, but I know having spoken to them leading up to the draft, they had some questions at that point in time, and I would imagine they still exist.”

Jayden Daniels cuts ties with Brandon Aiyuk after mom jibe

Daniels could have eased those concerns on behalf of his friend and persuaded them to take a risk to improve a WR room that needs some juice, much like Brady did for Brown.

That door is now closed.

Daniels recently laughed off a fan screaming ‘f*** Brandon Aiyuk’ in his face in a video which went viral, apparently ending the friendship for the Niners pass-catcher.

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“You on my team now. You follow my rules,” Aiyuk said in a recent post. “Boy, I’m a grown a** man, boy.

“You gonna have to stop running your mama and I might believe what you’re talking about.”

Daniels, whose mom Regina Jackson is a certified agent and handles his affairs, fired back, “Enjoy retirement, pal.”

A.J. Brown has six 1,000-yard seasons out of seven since joining the league. He has earned the right to fall out with quarterbacks and demand opportunities.

After a quiet rookie campaign, his namesake Antonio rattled off seven in the next eight years.

Coming off a serious injury at 28 years old, Aiyuk has just two on his résumé.

All Aiyuk had to do was keep quiet until players started going down at training camp, but at some point, teams will decide the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

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The one man that could have been in his corner is unlikely to take kindly to seeing the mother who played a huge role in his rise to stardom dragged into a social media feeding frenzy.

Aiyuk seems to have realized he crossed a line and tried to mend bridges, writing: “Let’s run it 5! Let’s see! Need you available all szn and I’ll do the same!”

Daniels later posted a picture of Kevin Durant with two thumbs down on his Instagram story.

There’s always the UFL.

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