Trading Brandon Aiyuk was on the table for the San Francisco 49ers before the NFL draft.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were one team interested, but the 49ers wanted too much. San Francisco’s belief was that they could get a contract extension with Aiyuk done. Well, as of now it isn’t looking too great. Reports are painting the negotiations in a negative light.
It also doesn’t help that Aiyuk posted to social media saying “they don’t want me back” in reference to the 49ers. This doesn’t mean a deal won’t materialize in the next month or two, but it is hard to feel any positivity at this very moment.
It seems that both the 49ers and Aiyuk are unwilling to move off the number for an extension. Aiyuk playing on the final year of his rookie deal is very possible and it is too late to revisit a trade at this point.
Should that occur, will the 49ers regret not trading Aiyuk before the NFL draft?
Not at all. The goal for the 49ers, as it has been for the last five years, is to go all in on winning a Super Bowl. Trading Aiyuk before or after the NFL draft doesn’t help them achieve that — it makes them worse. Sure, Aiyuk will be bummed that the 49ers couldn’t meet his demands on an extension.
But he isn’t suddenly going to play poorly because of that. He’s going to have to continue to ball out to prove to them that he is worth that money or to another team after the 2024 season. There is also the option of franchise tagging Aiyuk so that he remains for 2025.
Even if the 49ers don’t tag him and let him walk in free agency, they still shouldn’t feel any regret about not trading him sooner because it doesn’t benefit them at all in 2024.