We’ll be going over possible Brandon Aiyuk scenarios in a day or two just to have some fun over how this all plays out in speculation. But we know there are two facts at play:
1: Brandon Aiyuk has requested a trade.
2: The San Francisco 49ers are not going to trade him
Regarding the latter, Adam Schefter was quick on Tuesday to post that teams have reached out to the 49ers, but were told the 49ers have no intention of trading Aiyuk. Schefter later appeared on ESPN to give further details on how the 49ers have no intention of trading Aiyuk.
Below is his entire segment on ESPN explaining the state of negotiations.
The 49ers do not want to and do not intend to trade Brandon Aiyuk despite the fact that he has asked the team officially to move on from him. And really, what this comes down to is, there is a disagreement on his value. The wide receiver market this offseason has shifted in front of everybody’s eyes. If you look at all the wide receiver deals that have gotten done and the average annual salaries paid to wide receivers, you will see that the number has grown very much, and very quickly to the point where what the Niners are offering Brandon Aiyuk isn’t in there.
The top guy right now: [Minnesota Vikings] Justin Jefferson, had about $35 million dollars. You have other wide receviers on that list like [Philadelphia Eagles] A.J. Brown. You have [Philadelphia Eagles] DeVonta Smith gettting done at about $26 and a half [million], [Miami Dolphins] Jalen Waddle at 28, there are some of the numbers you are looking at. So the idea here is, where do you slot in Brandon Aiyuk on this chart? And I think all these receivers in the Niners’ minds would be north of what Brandon Aiyuk should be paid right now when DeVonta Smith is bleow them at $26 and a half million dollars.
Plus, Brandon Aiyuk has one year left on his deal. The Niners can tag him after that particular time. And so they have his contractual rights for at least this season and more if they opt to use it that way.”
If the 49ers intended on trading Aiyuk, they’d have done so before the NFL Draft. Or at least had offers in place to reject. Because thatcould have been the best return. Now, they are planning for their 2024 season and Aiyuk is part of those plans.
To be fair, yes, Aiyuk can sit out some of the season, but he has to play at least six games to accrue a full season. So it’s not like he can just put the 49ers on silent and go do something else.
While I want to say this ordeal is far from over, the 49ers have shown they get these done towards the end of the preseason. Right now it’s a standoff and it’s who cracks first.
