The Brandon Aiyuk contract situation with his San Francisco 49ers is no closer to being settled with roughly a week to go before their regular-season opener against the New York Jets.
Aiyuk has not returned to practice as fines continue to pile up. He had requested a trade this past offseason, leading to the 49ers talking to multiple teams about dealing the All-Pro pass-catcher. Nothing has come to fruition on that end.
Though, we do have a bit of an update here. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns actually had the largest offer out to Aiyuk before things broke down. Simply put, the former first-round pick wanted to go elsewhere.
“They (the Browns) already were offering more money than Pittsburgh, more money than San Francisco,” Schefter said on Thursday. “They were offering a lot. That wasn’t the issue. The issue simply was that he preferred to go elsewhere.”
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Could Cleveland Browns make a renewed play for Brandon Aiyuk?
Cleveland made a huge move earlier on Thursday, restructuring the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson. It saves the team $35.83 million in cap room this season. It could also be a harbinger of things to come.
Remember, the Browns and 49ers had an agreement in place that would’ve sent Aiyuk to Cleveland for a package surrounding fellow receiver Amari Cooper and a second-round pick. Things fell apart when Aiyuk made it clear he did not want to go to Cleveland.
- Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TD
Things could have very well changed since those talks took place. San Francisco is showing increased frustration over Aiyuk’s situation. It could very well bite the bullet and pull off a trade.
As for the 26-year-old receiver, things are running out of time. He can’t continue to holdout while racking up huge fines in the process.
In any event, something could be on the horizon with the NFL season a week from starting.