Should the 49ers Trade or Extend Brandon Aiyuk?
Brandon Aiyuk is the most tradeable player on the 49ers' roster.
If they were to trade him this offseason, they would suffer no financial penalty and take on zero dead salary cap money. In addition, if they trade him before the draft, they would receive a first-round pick, perhaps even pick no. 23 from the Houston Texans, whose head coach is DeMeco Ryans, who used to be the 49ers defensive coordinator. The Texans seem like an obvious suitor for Aiyuk if he's available.
But if the 49ers keep Aiyuk and extend his contract, they would save $10.4 million this season, which is significant, and they would keep their No. 1 weapon for the future and Brock Purdy's favorite receiver on the team.
Aiyuk is just a year older than Purdy and they have excellent chemistry. They should play together for many more years. The 49ers know opposing teams will play lots of man-to-man coverage against them as long as Purdy is their quarterback because he's so good at beating zone coverage, and the 49ers know Aiyuk is their best option against man-to-man coverage because he's their best route runner. He complements Purdy's skill set perfectly.
And the 49ers can afford to keep Aiyuk even though he'll be expensive. They can give him a big signing bonus, backload his contract and make his cap hits affordable for the next few seasons. Then when he gets expensive and hits his late 20s, the 49ers can trade him then if they need to, just as the Chiefs eventually traded Tyreek Hill.
The 49ers would be absolutely crazy to trade Aiyuk now. But they might, because he's not close friends with head coach Kyle Shanahan, and Shanahan plays favorites.
