General manager John Lynch firmly stated Monday that he wants Brandon Aiyuk to remain with the 49ers for the rest of the wide receiver's NFL career, but because the two sides haven't agreed to a new contract, the door remains open for a possible trade in the coming days.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Mike Silver spoke to "knowledgeable sources inside the building", as well as executives and coaches from other NFL teams, and the message he got was: Don't rule out a trade before or during this week's draft.
Silver wrote that when he asked a 49ers source about the possibility of Aiyuk being traded, the source said "Anything's possible."
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On Monday while talking with reporters, Lynch finished an opening statement and then addressed the Aiyuk situation before taking questions.
“Our wish is he’s here and part of the Niners for the rest of his career,” Lynch said. “We’re focused on B.A. being part of us.”
Silver also spoke to another NFL general manager who said that because Aiyuk and the 49ers aren't close on contract terms, the wide receiver who is entering his fifth season is "very much in play" for interested teams.
While the 49ers want Aiyuk to remain in the Bay Area for a long time, that doesn't mean they haven't at least explored the idea of trading him. Silver wrote that San Francisco is asking for a 2024 first-round draft pick, a price an NFL executive told him was "too much."
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Another NFL general manager told Silver that the 49ers "might ultimately accept a second-round selection" for Aiyuk. Silver believes Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan could be inclined to accept such a trade if the other team also includes a future third-round draft pick.
If the 49ers indeed trade Aiyuk, they'll be parting ways with one of the most productive NFL wide receivers. This past season, he caught 75 passes (31st in the NFL) on 105 targets (36th in the NFL) for 1,342 yards (seventh in the NFL), good for 17.9 yards per reception (second in the NFL).
Those numbers will be hard to replace if the 49ers move on from Aiyuk, but if the two sides can't come to an agreement on a contract that works for everyone, a trade might be the best thing for everyone involved.