Patriots
Aiyuk’s agent denied that he’s demanded a trade from the 49ers, but the rumors will likely still linger this offseason.
If Brandon Aiyuk really wants out of San Francisco, Kendrick Bourne wouldn’t mind reuniting with his former teammate.
In fact, the veteran wide receiver made a plea for the Patriots to trade for Aiyuk on Sunday as he seemed to make a pitch for the star receiver to join the team.
“@Patriots let’s get em! You getting all the targets u want! 👀👀,” Bourne, who played with the receiver in San Francisco for a season in 2020, wrote in a social media post, replying to a message that said the Patriots should trade for Aiyuk.
Unfortunately for Bourne, it doesn’t appear that Aiyuk is on the move – at least for now. After rumors emerged on social media over the weekend that Aiyuk requested a trade from the 49ers, the receiver’s agent denied that his client made that gesture.
“You need better sources,” Ryan Williams, Aiyuk’s agent, wrote in a social media post.
However, the denial from Aiyuk’s camp on Sunday likely won’t end the rumors of him possibly wanting out and being moved this offseason. He’s entering the final year of his rookie deal and is seeking a new deal that will likely make him one of the game’s highest-paid receivers.
“I’m trying to get what I deserve,” Aiyuk told the “Nightcap” podcast in March. “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.”
The 49ers also want Aiyuk to remain in San Francisco. General manager John Lynch said that the two sides were working on a deal and that Aiyuk isn’t available for trade when he spoke with reporters at the NFL’s league meetings in March.
“We’re actively talking with Brandon, trying to figure something out,” Lynch said at the time. “We have a good history of working with the guys we want to get done to get something done and it takes two sides. So, can we do that? We’ll see. There’s a number of different directions that it could go but we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and who he is as a player, and we want him to be a part of the Niners. We’re going to work towards making that a reality.”
Despite Lynch’s wishes, the social media activity of Aiyuk and those close to him have indicated that the receiver is OK with playing somewhere other than San Francisco. Shortly after the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs, Aiyuk’s girlfriend and close friend indicated that he had played in his final game with the team.
Aiyuk only heated up those rumors recently. He appeared to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, sparking even more buzz that he could be done in San Francisco.
If the Patriots were to trade for Aiyuk, it would likely be a hefty price. The 26-year-old had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns last season, his fourth in the league.
In terms of what it would cost to get Aiyuk, the Eagles’ trade to get A.J. Brown in 2022 might be a similar comparison. They gave up a first-round pick (No. 18 overall) and a third-round pick to get Brown from the TItans before giving him a four-year, $100 million extension.
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