What’s best landing spot for 49ers star as trade rumors swirl?

It appears another breakthrough in Silicon Valley may be imminent … if WR Brandon Aiyuk’s contractual standoff with the San Francisco 49ers is actually nearing a resolution.
Aiyuk, who’s been attending training camp but not practicing, might finally be getting the payday he coveted throughout the offseason. However, per longtime Niners beat writer Matt Maiocco, that could well mean a trade to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots or possibly even Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco brass now allowing Aiyuk’s representation to speak with select outside teams – a group that doesn’t include the Commanders, that club the subject of intense speculation as an Aiyuk destination in recent months given his Arizona State ties and friendship with Washington rookie QB Jayden Daniels.
So what’s the best outcome for Aiyuk based on the latest developments? Let’s rank them from worst to best:
Per Maiocco, the outside negotiations the 49ers have finally acceded to allow Aiyuk to accept or decline terms of a contract extension with another organization while San Francisco has already agreed to the framework of prospective deals – and, in this case, that means five-time Pro Bowl WR Amari Cooper would evidently be headed back to the Bay Area, which would be a pretty nice save for Niners GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan. As for Aiyuk? He gets his bag, sure. He also probably immediately steps into an offense where he becomes the primary option after being something akin to 2A – or was that TE George Kittle? or WR Deebo Samuel? – behind All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey. Maybe, coming off a career year (75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 TDs), Aiyuk truly blossoms into a superstar worthy of his potential windfall. Or maybe he struggles to adapt to an unmistakable WR1 role for an offense increasingly desperate for QB Deshaun Watson to live up to the guaranteed terms of what continues to loom as a historic boondoggle of a contract.
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Again, Aiyuk’s bank account would get fat. But he’d be leaving what’s perhaps the league’s best top-to-bottom roster for one of its worst – and would most certainly step into a circumstance where he’d become the focal point for defensive coordinators amid an attack that produced the NFL’s second-fewest points in 2023 before the Bill Belichick regime change. Yet long term, this might be a preferable scenario. Recently christened executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has spent the majority of his two-decade career in NFL front offices around winning programs with the Green Bay Packers and Pats … to say nothing of what he absorbed from his father, Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf. New England has a promising young quarterback in Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick from this year’s draft, yet also doesn’t have to rush him onto the field with veteran QB2 Jacoby Brissett likely to carry the QB1 designation to start the season. Perhaps more important, Wolf is well equipped to adhere to the draft-and-develop mode he’s seen bear fruit for so much of his career, yet also has copious cap space in the near term – luxuries the highly leveraged Browns haven’t had nor will they likely in the foreseeable future as the clock continues to tick entering the third season of Watson’s five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
You won’t find many players who don’t want to work for HC Mike Tomlin, a college wide receiver at William & Mary who looks like he could be Aiyuk’s father given their resemblance. But happenstance aside, the Steelers are always in playoff contention and also happen to need another frontline wideout – and Aiyuk would definitely seem to be an upgrade from departed Diontae Johnson as a guy who could do more with a high volume of targets while deterring defenses from doubling explosive George Pickens on the other side. Per ESPN, Pittsburgh re-engaged the 49ers on Tuesday after appearing to be on the outside of the Aiyuk sweepstakes Monday. GM Omar Khan certainly has the salary cap cushion in future years to accommodate the kind of deal Aiyuk is seeking. However the ascending pass catcher would have to ask himself if he’ll chafe in an offense that’s about to re-emphasize the run game under new OC Arthur Smith and has one quarterback – John Rhys Plumlee – signed beyond this season … and he’s (understandably) unlikely to stick on a depth chart that includes veterans Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen.
It’s still pretty obviously the best situation for the reigning NFC champs and their best receiver. History shows Lynch tends to get deals done at the 11th hour but that he takes care of his best players. Aiyuk, owed $14.1 million in 2024 on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, is most definitely one of them – and even if he had to wait until 2025 for his lottery money, remaining a component of an offense in which he’s built substantial chemistry with QB Brock Purdy would almost certainly augment his bid for a contract approaching or exceeding the top of a wideout financial market that’s established its best performers deserve $30 million-plus annually. And if Aiyuk really wants a ring to gild his legacy – and maybe add another premium to his value – there’s almost no better place to be in 2024 than San Francisco.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.