"Is all the water under the bridge settled?" - NFL Insider casts doubt on Brandon Aiyuk’s stance with 49ers after WR's heated talks with Terrell Owens

NFL insider Matt Barrows doesn't think the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk are seeing eye-to-eye.

Aiyuk was in a contract dispute with the 49ers last offseason, and the star receiver ended up signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension with San Francisco. Although Aiyuk got paid, Barrows doesn't think the contract dispute is completely forgotten about.

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"He hasn't been the distraction he was last year, for sure... Is all the water under the bridge settled between the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk? I don't know about that," Barrows said.

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Barrows' report comes after Aiyuk had a heated debate with NFL legend Terrell Owens. Owens was at San Francisco's minicamp,

49ers reporter Grant Cohn claimed Owens had a talk with Aiyuk, which was intense.

“In this group was also Patrick Willis and Frank Gore,” Cohn said. “It was Terell Owens holding court talking directly to Brandon Aiyuk while Gore and Willis watched."

Ultimately, Aiyuk is under contract through the 2028 NFL season but there is an opt-out after the 2026 NFL season.

If there still is a bit of a dispute, perhaps Aiyuk and the 49ers look to part ways with one another then. But, for now, Aiyuk will once again be a focal point of San Francisco's offense in 2025.

49ers GM Heaps Praise on Brandon Aiyuk

Entering the 2025 NFL season, Brandon Aiyuk is expected to be the No. 1 receiver for the 49ers.

Aiyuk is coming off a torn ACL and MCL as he's looking to make a return for Week 1. Although San Francisco is uncertain if Aiyuk will return in Week 1, 49ers general manager John Lynch knows Aiyuk will be a key part of the offense.

“Brandon’s doing a tremendous job coming back," Lynch said on The Pat McAfee Show, via NinersNation. "These guys that are incredibly skilled athletes, they tend to heal a lot faster. It’s kind of incredible how well he’s healing, and he’s putting in the work. We’re proud of Brandon, and we’re looking forward to him being part of this team moving forward.

"We made a big investment in him. We’re proud to have him part of our franchise, and looking for big things from him. And we’re gonna let him get right before we get him back on that field. But he’s an important part of this team.”

Before the injury, Aiyuk recorded 25 receptions for 374 yards in 7 games.

San Francisco is set to open its 2025 NFL season on Sept. 7 against the Seattle Seahawks.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton