According to Dianna Russini, the 49ers may be interested in trying to trade Brandon Aiyuk but likely won't pull the trigger on a deal.
From a financial standpoint, the San Francisco 49ers could easily be shopping wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk right now.
Amid their current cost-cutting measures, and in light of reports that suggest the team's front office isn't pleased with how his extension negotiations went down an offseason ago, moving Aiyuk to a bidding team would make a lot of sense.
Especially with over $20 million due to him on April 1 when an option bonus becomes guaranteed.
According to varying rumors, the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns have interest in trading for the 2020 first-round draftee, but there are problems. For starters, Aiyuk is coming off a torn ACL and MCL suffered last season. That drastically reduces the receiver's trade value, meaning the Niners are poised not to get much in return for a receiver who would have likely commanded at least a day-two draft pick a year ago.
On top of that, San Francisco's wide receiver room is already thin enough, boasting last year's standouts, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, along with the free-agent pickup of Demarcus Robinson.
Still, the 49ers have shown a willingness to move on from high-cost players despite meager returns (see wide receiver Deebo Samuel's trade), so moving Aiyuk remains a possibility between now and April 1.
However, according to one NFL insider, such a deal doesn't seem likely to happen.
Dianna Russini doesn't 'expect anything' on 49ers trading Brandon Aiyuk
Speaking on the Scoop City Podcast with Chase Daniel, The Athletic's Dianna Russini cast doubts on the possibility of Aiyuk being traded.
"I don’t get the sense that it’s a reality," Russini said despite admitting the Niners' potential interest in saving cash. "I’m sure the 49ers would like to trade Brandon because of the finances."
However, she acknowledged actually doing so wasn't likely.
"We’ll see what happens with this," Russini continued. "I don’t expect anything."
You can listen to the full podcast below:
Of course, this could always be a ploy. It's reasonable to assume San Francisco's front office is intentionally leaking this perspective to Russini to drive up the asking price, an attempt to get either Cleveland or New England to up their offers for Aiyuk.
At the same time, Russini could be hearing from both of those interested teams, saying neither thinks the 49ers will be willing to sell at such a low price, thereby prompting the Niners to lower said asking price.
It's complicated. But that's the point.