The San Francisco 49ers are in a pickle with Brandon Aiyuk’s contract negotiations. The two parties are obviously not close on the terms of a new contract that would keep Aiyuk in San Francisco for the long haul. Instead, Brandon Aiyuk has now officially requested a trade from the 49ers, which puts the team’s back against the wall. Could one of the NFL’s top receivers be on the move soon?
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggests that one potential solution could be trading Deebo Samuel and then using the leftover cap space to extend Brandon Aiyuk.
Before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly wanted to trade for Deebo Samuel. However, the 49ers reportedly wanted more than the Steelers were willing to give up in a trade.
It is easy to understand the logic with this argument. Aiyuk is a younger player than Samuel, which would be the smarter choice if you only had to invest in one of them. Aiyuk (75 catches for 1,342 yards) also had a more productive season in 2023 than Samuel did (60 catches for 892 yards) even when you account for Deebo’s midseason injury.
The only question would be: what is Deebo Samuel’s trade market? His $28.63 million cap hit could be tough to stomach for most teams.
