If one had to bet between the San Francisco 49ers trading disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk or releasing him outright, the safest conclusion would be the latter.
Any would-be suitor is fully aware the Niners are preparing to boot him from their roster, likely by a Sept. 1 date when an option bonus is due. And while Aiyuk has already made things difficult by not being the easiest individual to reach, San Francisco's brass continues to let it fly by informing the rest of the league it's open to offers.
Any offer.
Still, no team appears to be willing enough to shell out coveted NFL Draft capital to acquire the receiver who hasn't stepped on the field since October of 2024 when he suffered a torn ACL and MCL.
That said, and despite the inactivity up to this point, there's a possible solution that could break the 49ers' trade-effort stalemate.
49ers may have to include draft compensation to trade Brandon Aiyuk
Forget the notion of the Niners trading Aiyuk to a suitor for a draft pick straight up. If an interested party, such as the Washington Commanders (the team most linked to Aiyuk), wanted the receiver badly enough, something would've happened by now.
Instead, San Francisco might have to sweeten the deal a little bit by including a draft pick of its own—a transaction effectively turning into a move-up in the draft order, likely no more than in the late rounds on day three.
It's something Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport suggested when he proposed a would-be trade between the 49ers and Commanders:
Washington Commanders Receive:Â WR Brandon Aiyuk, 2027 Round 6 Pick
San Francisco 49ers Receive:Â 2027 Round 5 Pick
... Aiyuk is going to have to be realistic about his contract as well—if he gets released, he's going to get less on the open market than he would on a restructured deal.
If the parties involved can face those realities, a Washington Commanders team that needs wideout help opposite Terry McLaurin makes sense as a trade partner, especially since Aiyuk played with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels at Arizona State.
Including a pick might be the only way the Niners convince a team like Washington to be a taker, even though jumping from Round 6 into Round 5 isn't exactly the best consolation prize for San Francisco after it invested so heavily in Aiyuk entering 2024.
And the Commanders would still have to bite, too, knowing they'd take on Aiyuk's contract as is, which might be a full-stop anyway regardless of pick compensation.
However, if the 49ers are that eager to get something out of Aiyuk, they may have to offer something in addition to just the receiver himself.
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