The San Francisco 49ers have made it clear all offseason that they don’t plan on trading disgruntled All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Sure, talks have happened with other teams. But nothing concrete has come up. Some believe that might change now that Aiyuk has requested a trade amid a contract stalemate with the 49ers.
As you likely already know, Aiyuk wants to be one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL as he enters the final season of his rookie contract. San Francisco has reportedly countered with an offer that’s significantly less than the $30-plus million he’s demanding.
So, where does this leave the two sides with NFL training camps now here? Outside of Aiyuk holding out, it’s pretty much the status quo.
“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,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Wednesday.
Aiyuk himself has been pretty vocal on social media and the like about wanting a new contract. He’s even made some waves with pretty telling posts about moving on if San Francisco doesn’t change its stance in negotiations.
The question here is now rather obvious. Should San Francisco bite the bullet and trade the 26-year-old star receiver? It’s a complicated question.
These 49ers are in win-now mode after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in February’s Super Bowl. Objectively, trading Aiyuk wouldn’t make the team any better unless they were able to acquire another wide receiver. Barring San Francisco getting together with the Las Vegas Raiders in a deal centering around Davante Adams, that’s just not going to happen.
- Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TD
As you can see, Aiyuk is extremely important to the 49ers’ success on offense. Quarterback Brock Purdy tallied a 71.4% completion and 124.0 passer rating when targeting the former first-round pick out of Arizona State last season.
On the other hand, San Francisco’s cap situation is questionable. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are among the highest-paid players at their positions in the NFL. Something will have to give moving forward.
It’s obviously a major talking point with the NFL season quickly approaching.
Read more: Updated San Francisco 49ers news and rumors