Adam Schefter shared a positive injury update on Brandon Aiyuk, but there's a glaring issue that answers why the 49ers won't trade him.
All indications suggest the San Francisco 49ers would like to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this offseason.
Not only have the Niners kickstarted a cost-savings plan that included trading away fellow wideout Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders earlier this offseason, but they've also avoided dishing out hefty contracts to players on the free-agent market, leading to a notable exodus of some of their top talent.
Aiyuk isn't part of that wave of departures. At least not yet. And, according to some, he won't be. The Athletic's Dianna Russini felt no trade would go down despite San Francisco having interest in engineering one prior to when his 2026 option becomes guaranteed on April 1.
A key reason why, aside from the receiver's contract extension signed an offseason ago, is Aiyuk's injury status. He suffered a torn ACL and MCL, as well as other ligament damage, during the first half of the season in a Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, putting his availability for the beginning of 2025 in serious doubt.
While there's a subsequent injury update that's positive, it helps shed light on why the 49ers won't be able to trade Aiyuk even if they aggressively want to.
Adam Schefter says Brandon Aiyuk won't be ready until midseason
Speaking on his podcast, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared some insight on Aiyuk's injury recovery, which is promising enough but not exactly the best-case news.
Having spoken with
"Nobody wants to take on the contract when you don't know when the guy is going to be healthy again this season," Shefter said. "But from what I understand, Dr. Neal ElAttrache (Aiyuk's orthopedic surgeon) is pleased with his progress."
That's good news, yes. There's always the possibility Aiyuk never returns to the caliber of player he was pre-injury. And while there could be interest from other teams in trading for Aiyuk, the return compensation likely wouldn't be very much.
You can listen to the full podcast below:
"He's coming along," Schefter continued. "I would think he's ready to play by midseason, and there might be a team out there that is willing to basically not give up very much to get a great player who's coming off the injury."
Any team acquiring Aiyuk, however, would be taking on a substantial risk by absorbing the post-trade remainder of his contract: over $33 million in 2027 and nearly $40 million the year thereafter, albeit with no guaranteed money left on the deal, per Over the Cap.
Coupled with the fact Aiyuk likely won't make an impact until midway through 2025, and it's understandable why teams would hesitate to dish out anything but low-end compensation in a trade back to San Francisco.
Should no trade materialize between now and April 1, it seems highly likely Aiyuk won't go anywhere despite all the trade speculation and rumor.