San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has repeatedly downplayed the possibility of trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, despite the All-Pro skipping mandatory minicamp while seeking a new contract. And yet Aiyuk, who is technically signed through 2024, continues to stoke the flames of a potential split, recently telling former college teammate Jayden Daniels “they don’t want me back.”
Lynch has said publicly the 49ers want to sign Aiyuk to a long-term deal, but San Francisco has so far been unwilling to meet the wideout’s contract demands, per ESPN. The 49ers just spent a first-round draft pick at the position, adding Florida’s Ricky Pearsall to a group also featuring Pro Bowler Deebo Samuel, who’s due more than $24 million in each of the next two seasons. Negotiations with Aiyuk are “not completely dead,” per NFL Media, but the Niners want the wideout “at their price.”
Aiyuk, meanwhile, could be seeking at least that much annually on a new deal, with six different wideouts securing extensions averaging more than $24 million per year this offseason. If the 49ers don’t budge and decide instead to auction Aiyuk via trade, which clubs could emerge as logical destinations?
