Shawne Merriman On Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Shanahan Crash, WNBA Mismanagement, And More! | Don't @ Me w/ Dan Dakich
Former NFL Pro-Bowler SHawne Merriman joins Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich to discuss Kyle Shanahan's car crash, Brandon Aiyuk's career ending offseason, how the WNBA is mismanaged, and MUCH More!
The Washington Commanders, desperately wanting to add wide receiver help for their offense, had basically two obvious and productive veteran options from which to pick – Stefon Diggs or Brandon Aiyuk.
So, the guy who has played for three different teams the past three seasons and somehow wore out his welcome despite producing two 1,000-yard seasons in that time – Diggs?
Or the guy who signed a big contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024, got injured, didn't play in 2025, and has become a candidate for an intervention because of his bizarre behavior in recent months – Aiyuk?
STEFON DIGGS FOUND NOT GUILTY ON STRANGULATION AND ASSAULT CHARGES, NOW EYES NFL FREE AGENCY
Then-New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs appears at Dedham District Court. (Staff photo by Stuart Cahill)
The Commanders are going with Diggs.
Diggs is set to sign with the Commanders, NFL Network first reported on Wednesday. Diggs will agree to what is expected to be a one-year contract and it will not be a minimum salary deal.
Diggs will join a wide receiver room replete with other veterans, including Terry McLaurin, Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffery and Dyami Brown, all who must produce while rookie Antonio Williams develops.
This is good for Diggs.
He's from the DMV (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia), he's coming off his first fully healthy offseason in three years, and he's once again playing with a good quarterback in Jayden Daniels.
Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) reacts after a play with wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (14) against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 26, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)
This is not good, however, for Aiyuk.
It's a full-on public statement of what NFL personnel people have been privately telling Fox News Digital about Aiyuk's behavior. It is filled with off-putting, perhaps even disconcerting antics, and teams don't want to add that to their locker room.
What antics, you ask?
- Filming himself while driving over 100 MPH on the road adjacent to the San Francisco 49ers training facility that Aiyuk declined to report to for much of last season.
- Posting a racetrack video after an arrest warrant connected to the alleged speeding was issued.
- Filming himself throwing cash around the floor to mock the 49ers for paying him.
- Mocking coach Kyle Shanahan's recent accident online. The accident left Shanahan with a broken hand, broken ribs and various other injuries that prevented him from fulfilling all his duties at the start of training camp.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) catches the ball during warmups before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steven Bisig/Imagn Images)
There's more but you get the drift.
Aiyuk didn't hide his desire to go to the Commanders because he desperately wants out of San Francisco and Daniels was his college teammate at Arizona State, where the two had good chemistry.
The Commanders expressed some interest in Aiyuk with the 49ers months ago.
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But that interested waned. And now one can only imagine how Aiyuk will react to the news that the team offering his best chance for playing this season is going in another direction.
It might serve as a lesson for him to cut back on his reputation-harming conduct.
Or not.
