Brandon Aiyuk has requested a trade, and the 49ers don’t have to move him. But these five teams are probably interested nonetheless.
The San Francisco 49ers are highly, highly unlikely to trade star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
This, despite the wideout’s recent trade request just days before training camp begins amid contract extension talks stalling.
It seems like a last-ditch ploy by Aiyuk’s camp to finally get the Niners to come to terms. Considering San Francisco has a history of finalizing such deals at the start of camp, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a new contract happen relatively soon.
Aiyuk is still under contract with the 49ers through 2024, and they can apply the franchise tag on him the following two years, too, if they so desire.
A trade now doesn’t make much sense for the Niners, who are aiming for nothing less than a Super Bowl win, and dealing their top receiver from the last two seasons in exchange for NFL Draft picks or mid-market players won’t help those immediate prospects whatsoever.
That said, other teams are likely picking up the phones and calling general manager John Lynch right now to see what it’d take to pry Aiyuk away.
Including these five squads that’d love to have Aiyuk in their ranks.
No. 1: Washington Commanders
Aiyuk is close to Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, as the two played together at ASU. And the two have shared social media videos highlighting the receiver’s frustrations with San Francisco, too.
Beyond that, the Commanders’ general manager is Adam Peters, who served on Lynch’s staff from 2017 through 2023, making that pipeline much more agreeable.
Washington has more than enough cap space to pay Aiyuk what he wants on a trade-and-sign deal, and it’s likely a mid-level Round 1 draft pick in 2025 could be part of the equation, even if it wouldn’t help the 49ers much right now.
Still, pairing Aiyuk with his friend, Daniels, would be ideal for Peters and Co.
No. 2: New England Patriots
Pro Football Focus recently ranked the New England Patriots‘ wide receiver room the absolute worst in the league entering 2024, meaning they’d be more than willing to give up plenty of assets for a player of Aiyuk’s ilk.
Granted, it’s going to be a while before the Pats are competitive again, but the Niners could certainly demand what’ll assuredly be a very high second-round pick in return and, perhaps, a solid player in exchange.
Aiyuk might not be thrilled, though, knowing he’s going to a team ushering in a complete rebuild, but that’d be his problem to worry about.
No. 3: Los Angeles Chargers
Similar to New England, the Los Angeles Chargers‘ wide receiver room isn’t particularly great after saying goodbye to star pass catchers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams earlier this offseason.
Unlike the Patriots, though, the pressure is on the Bolts to rejoin the AFC West as a legitimate competitor, now under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Getting a flashy new weapon for quarterback Justin Herbert would be ideal, and it would be one step closer for LA to finally have a reasonable shot at chasing the Kansas City Chiefs, who have no realistic competition within the division at this point.
No. 4: Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos can probably get wind of Los Angeles’ interest in Aiyuk. And, in the same context as their AFC West rivals, the Broncos also need to find ways to catch up with KC in the division.
That would include adding a star receiver to help out rookie quarterback Bo Nix and to pair with the veteran, Courtland Sutton.
Like Washington, Denver has a pipeline back to San Francisco, thanks to Lynch’s lengthy tenure there as a player, and the two teams have engaged in plenty of trades before.
The 49ers, of course, would want to pry something useful away from the Broncos, but it’d likely have to be a relatively lucrative package of draft picks to convince Lynch not to hang up the phone.
No. 5: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills aren’t in the same division as Kansas City, of course. But, looking at the makeup of the AFC playoff picture this upcoming season, they might as well be staging a “cold war” arms race to finally overcome that postseason hurdle.
It’ll be much harder for quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills to keep pace with the Chiefs this season, particularly after trading away star wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, leaving Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel as the two primary weapons at Allen’s disposal.
Buffalo plays the Niners this season on Sunday Night Football, which could have playoff implications for both teams. Plus, considering the Bills are likely bound for the postseason despite their losses, a trade package in return might be tough to muster to San Francisco’s liking.
But it would be a scenario in which the 49ers would move Aiyuk about as far away as possible to a team desperately seeking receiver help.
