49ERS WR BRANDON AIYUK HAS NOT REQUESTED A TRADE SAYS HIS AGENT
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has not requested a trade following the lack of an extension agreement between himself and the organization, his agent confirmed on Sunday.
Denver Broncos insider Benjamin Allbright and 49ers Sports Talk had reported last week that Aiyuk had requested a trade away from the San Francisco 49ers and that the team was working on a potential deal with other NFL teams. NFL Insider John Frascella also reported the same on Sunday morning.
Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, however, quickly rubbished the news by tweeting at Frascella, saying: “You need better sources.”
According to multiple reports, amongst the teams that were interested in acquiring Brandon Aiyuk were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens. Frascella’s report said the Steelers have been the most aggressive team in pursuing a trade for Aiyuk with the Ravens following closely behind. A third ‘mystery team’ was coming on strong but no information was divulged.
Per 49ers Sports Talk’s report on Saturday, a trade involving a first-round pick going the other way and potentially a player was close to completion. The deal was set to become official on Monday with San Francisco aiming at acquiring both an offensive lineman and possibly a wide receiver in the draft later this month after acquiring draft capital for Aiyuk.
The recent speculation surrounding Aiyuk’s future comes just two months after the San Francisco 49ers lost the Super Bowl in heartbreaking fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs, a game in which the former first-round pick registered just 3 catches for 49 receiving yards and no touchdowns. The All-Pro wide receiver has yet to get a new deal from his team.
“I’m trying to get what I deserve,” said Aiyuk back in February. “I feel like this season, this season playing football, I figured out who I was as a person and a player, what I bring to the table, what I bring to the locker room, what I bring to the organization. And just the value I hold when I walk in that building.”
Aiyuk and his closest circle have been cryptic about his future in the past couple of months, going back to a social media post by his girlfriend in February in which she said: “This might have been the last day we touched foot on Levi’s Stadium… because we might not be out here next season” to one of Aiyuk’s closest friends saying on Instagram: “This is the exact same reason [why] we’re leaving San Francisco. Thank you, 49ers for drafting my brother we are forever grateful.”
San Francisco press asked Aiyuk after the Super Bowl if he hoped to stay with the Niners, a question to which the 25-year-old wide receiver subtly replied: “If that’s the right move, yeah.”
Aiyuk also unfollowed the team on social media last week.
San Francisco 49ers General Manager John Lynch said on February 27th that Aiyuk is a guy the Niners “want to keep around for a long time.” Lynch said: “We have some challenges. We have a lot of good players, a lot of good players who we’ve rewarded. Brandon’s one we think incredibly highly of, one of my favorite guys around our building.”
“The way he approaches the game, he’s a competitor, he’s a warrior. He plays with such physicality, also with grace, in the way some of the positions his body can get into. And then he’s got a flair for making plays when [they] matter most, and he’s served us very well as a franchise. And I think we’ve got a nice track record of extending the players that are important to us, and Brandon’s the guy we want to keep around for a long time.”
The former Arizona State wide receiver is entering the fifth-year option on his rookie contract and is due a fully guaranteed salary of $14.1 million, the same figure as his salary cap number. If both Aiyuk and the 49ers can’t strike a deal or can’t come to a trade agreement, the 2020 25th overall pick will hit free agency next year, although San Francisco could still use the franchise tag on him.
Aiyuk had a career-high 75 receptions on 105 targets for 1,342 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.