San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver will be suiting up for the red and gold when they open their season against the New York Jets a week from Monday.
That was not a foregone conclusion for a vast majority of the offseason. San Francisco and Aiyuk were mired in a contract stalemate with the former Arizona State star set to enter the final year of his rookie contract.
It led to Aiyuk initially requesting a trade and the 49ers having discussions with other teams about moving the All-Pro talent.
Instead, the two sides agreed to a whopping four-year, $120 million contract. It’s an absolutely huge move for the defending NFC champions as they attempt to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl.
Throughout the offseason, Aiyuk was linked primarily to the Pittsburgh Steelers. San Francisco also had conversations with the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. But he did not want to go to either team.
Now that the situation is settled, we’re hearing more about what was happening behind the scenes. There is certainly a surprise here.
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Brandon Aiyuk was open to trade to the Washington Commanders
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported recently that Aiyuk was more than open to being traded to the NFC East squad. Rookie Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Aiyuk were teammates at Arizona State before Daniels transferred to LSU. That’s an obvious link.
Washington would have been an ideal landing spot. Getting a star pass-catcher like Aiyuk would’ve worked wonders for Daniels. Alas, it was not to be. Washington didn’t show much interest in trading for Aiyuk.
San Francisco was said to be asking for a first-round pick and a wide receiver in exchange for Aiyuk. That was too rich for the Commanders’ blood.
From a 49ers perspective, retaining Aiyuk looms even larger now. Rookie first-round pick Ricky Pearsall suffered a gunshot wound to the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco on Saturday. While he’s out of the hospital, the furthest thing from anyone’s mind is the former Florida star suiting up any time soon.