One of the more disgruntled players in the NFL is Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers. What type of deal could he end up signing? Here is a recent report from Mike Florio of PFT:
"49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk recently asked for a trade. Before the draft, trade talks nevertheless happened.Mike Florio
Negotiations occurred not because Aiyuk wanted out, but because the 49ers invited his representatives to explore whether another team would pay Aiyuk what he wanted on a long-term deal.
At the time, the magic number was in the neighborhood of $28 million per year. That quite possibly has changed, given the market-shifting deal given by the Vikings to receiver Justin Jefferson.
Regardless, there were five teams, we’re told, who were ready to pay Aiyuk what he wanted before the draft. If they could also reach acceptable trade terms with the 49ers, he would have been traded.
That part didn’t happen. It’s unclear what the 49ers wanted at the time. They rejected an offer of a second-round pick from the Patriots. Other interested teams were, and potentially still are, the Steelers and Commanders."
There is a good bit to unpack here. First off, the initial number before the NFL Draft as Florio reports was around $28 million per season, but as he continues to note, Justin Jefferson's deal, which was $35 million per year, may have made Aiyuk's pricetag more expensive.
Mike Florio is also reporting that the Patriots, Steelers, and Commanders have had some form of interest, and he does not rule them out from still having interest. This seems to fall in line with what we have heard from other reports this offseason. With training camp just about here, and no long-term deal for Aiyuk in sight, you have to wonder if a trade is now on the table.
The San Francisco 49ers apparently rejected a second-round pick from the Patriots, which is interesting. Given how expensive the WR position is getting and how many good wide receivers there are across the NFL, you do have to wonder if a hypothetical trade would net the 49ers less than they hope.
In the coming days and weeks, a final destination for Brandon Aiyuk will surely be decided.