For the second successive year, Brandon Aiyuk has been the subject of trade speculation.
However, the All-Pro wide receiver once again looks set to remain as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension with the 49ers last August, bringing an end to a protracted contract saga during which he was reportedly close to being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 2023 second-team All-Pro suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus damage in Week 7 last season, with that injury a factor in talk of the 49ers looking to get out of that extension.
But, with option bonuses for 2025 and 2026 worth $22.85 million and $24.93 million set to fully guarantee on April 1, Tuesday is regarded as the deadline for any potential Aiyuk trade this year.
Speaking at the NFL’s annual league meetings on Monday, 49ers general manager John Lynch indicated they have no desire to move on from the 2020 first-round pick.
“There’s probably spillover from last year when we were going through his contract thing and a number of teams became interested in Brandon,” Lynch said of the trade rumors.
“People called, you always take calls from folks, but we’ve always been interested in Brandon being part of the Niners. We made that decision when we signed him.
“We love Brandon Aiyuk as a football player. We did when we drafted him and we’re excited to move forward with him.”
Having already traded wide receiver former All-Pro Deebo Samuel this offseason, a trade of Aiyuk would have put the 49ers in a difficult spot at the position.
When he is healthy, the 49ers are a much better football team with Aiyuk, one of the NFL’s premier route-runners, and Lynch is optimistic about his recovery from his devastating injury.
“It’s good to hear that he’s tracking well with his progress [in his recovery from injury],” Lynch added.
“He’s working really hard to do so, and I expect fully that Aiyuk will be a part of us moving forward.”
