The wide receiver market appears to be moving in one direction for the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. The team has said publicly they have no intention to trade Brandon Aiyuk. However, their lack of a deal before the draft could complicate matters, as they face an uphill battle to get him extended.
On Monday, 49ers general manager John Lynch wouldn’t answer if Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, had asked permission to seek a trade. Aiyuk hasn’t sought a trade publicly; he also hasn’t shown up for the team’s voluntary offseason workout.
As of last week, the 49ers said they weren’t entertaining phone calls for Aiyuk. That has changed two days before the draft starts.
According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, the 49ers have signaled to teams that they would be willing to trade Aiyuk for the right price:
There is a sense among other high-ranking personnel executives around the league that Aiyuk, as one such executive put it, “is available for the right price.” To this point, the 49ers have asked for a 2024 first-round pick. “They want too much,” said the executive, whose team is in the market for a receiver.
However, another team’s GM said he believes the 49ers ultimately might accept a second-round selection. Such a deal might become more enticing to Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan if that pick were near the start of the second round and packaged with another selection — say, a 2025 third-rounder.
That certainly sounds like the 49ers have had trade talks. GH reached out to Williams and Athletes First via email and phone for comment and to confirm the 49ers have an asking price for Aiyuk. There has been no response as of this publishing.
Silver’s report makes it sound like the 49ers should try and get a trade deal done sooner rather than later, as the price might come down during the draft.
Or the 49ers could pay Aiyuk No. 1 wide receiver money. That price will only increase once Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, and Ja’Marr Chase get their bags.
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