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There’s been a lot of talk this offseason about whether Brandon Aiyuk, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, will stay with the team.
Some think he might get traded.
The 49ers have been trying to keep Aiyuk, who’s 26 years old, by negotiating a new contract. But these talks haven’t gone smoothly. Even though Aiyuk showed up for training camp on Tuesday, he asked to be traded on July 16. This has made the team’s general manager, John Lynch, realize that Aiyuk might not stay with the team.
In May, Lynch talked about possibly trading Aiyuk during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” He said they had discussed it but decided against it. “We’re past that now,” Lynch said, emphasizing his efforts to keep the team together and move forward with Aiyuk.
However, after a recent training camp practice, Lynch seemed to leave the door open for a possible trade. He admitted it’s not what the 49ers want but acknowledged it could happen.
“Brandon’s a big part of our team and we expect that he will be this year,” Lynch mentioned about the ongoing negotiations. He called it a “shame” that they couldn’t finalize a deal in the offseason.
Last year, while negotiating with defensive end Nick Bosa, Lynch guaranteed they’d reach an agreement. Bosa eventually got a record $170 million contract extension. But Lynch hasn’t made such promises with Aiyuk.
“I did say that with Bosa,” Lynch noted. “No absolutes there. We fully intend on Brandon being a Niner moving forward.”
He added there’s no set timeline for when they expect to finalize Aiyuk’s deal.
Aiyuk became the team’s top wide receiver in 2023, surpassing Deebo Samuel. He earned second-team All-Pro honors with 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. For now, he’s set to play the 2024 season on his rookie contract’s fifth-year option worth $14.1 million.
