Teams are reportedly prodding the 49ers about potentially trading Brandon Aiyuk, which is pretty ridiculous.
Fans got their fair dose of trade rumors and speculation surrounding wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers last season.
Well, welcome back.
According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, speaking on the Scoop City podcast, a number of teams have reached out to the Niners about potentially trading for Aiyuk:
"Brandon Aiyuk is a player that a lot of teams had interest in before he signed that deal last year," Russini reported. "Remember, he signed that four-year, $120 million deal. There are some teams poking around now to see if the 49ers would be willing to deal Aiyuk."
Now, it's perfectly logical other teams would be inquiring to see what the asking price might be. That happens all offseason for any number of talented players.
Whether or not the Niners would heed those calls and entertain offers, though, is another matter altogether.
49ers will laugh off any Brandon Aiyuk trade inquiry
A big obstacle to any would-be Aiyuk trade is the fact he's still recovering from last year's ACL and MCL tears, suffered a few weeks into the regular season. There's a solid chance he won't be ready for the start of 2025, so passing post-trade physicals is kind of an issue.
Assuming there'd be a workaround there, San Francisco still has plenty of other reasons not to trade Aiyuk, many of them financial.
An offseason trade would cost the 49ers $62.1 million in dead money, according to Over the Cap. Considering the Niners are aiming to make fellow wideout Deebo Samuel a release candidate this offseason, likely with a post-June 1 designation that'd still cost $10.7 million in dead money in 2025, trading Aiyuk would significantly hinder San Francisco's cap-space situation.
Unless the return was wholly lucrative and too good to pass up, the 49ers wouldn't budge.
Plus, there's the roster depth. Trading Aiyuk would leave the Niners with two solid receivers in Jauan Jennings and second-year pro Ricky Pearsall, who both made notable strides last year but aren't exactly classified as true WR1s. Considering this year's NFL Draft is pretty barren, as far as receivers are concerned, the ability to land a cheap replacement on a rookie contract is slight.
Needless to say, it'd be wise for San Francisco to dismiss any calls for Aiyuk's services, even if he's nowhere close to 100 percent.
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