The 49ers are approaching a key deadline with Brandon Aiyuk’, sparking trade talk, but his contract is not the biggest issue relating to the wideout this offseason.
Trade rumors around Brandon Aiyuk have become the 49ers’ most annoying offseason tradition. As April 1, when 2025 and 2026 option bonuses worth $22.85 million and $24.93 million, respectively, become guaranteed, the edge gets closer, and such speculation has begun to swirl again. None of it has come from anywhere credible, and none of it is worth diving into.
Speaking on her podcast ‘Scoop City’, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini moved to dismiss talk of the 49ers trading Aiyuk, though she did not dismiss the notion that they have motivation to do so.
“I don’t get the sense that it’s a reality,” Russini said of the trade speculation.
“I’m sure that the 49ers would like to do it because of the finances. Why would a team be so open about this? There must be something else.”
Allow me to parse Russini’s words here.
An Aiyuk trade is something many in the 49ers front office, particularly those who negotiated his four-year, $120 million extension, probably want. There’s clearly a lot of regret surrounding that deal, which will be magnified by the uncertainty surrounding his availability for the start of the 2025 season.
However, it’s highly unlikely to be something that head coach Kyle Shanahan, reported as having sprinted up the stairs to prevent Aiyuk from being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers towards the end of last year’s contract saga, desires.
For as much as he struggled to produce peak performance last season prior to going down with a season-ending knee injury, the reality is that Aiyuk remains the 49ers’ best wide receiver.
He is still San Francisco’s premier route-runner and the receiver with whom Brock Purdy shares the most developed rapport. On top of that, Aiyuk, save for perhaps George Kittle and a healthy Christian McCaffrey, still presents the 49ers’ easiest avenue to explosive plays.
Since he came into the starting lineup, Purdy has – even with the injury – thrown to Aiyuk more often than any other 49ers wideout, targeting the former first-round pick 183 times. He has targeted Kittle 204 times.
Over the course of the last three years, Aiyuk has produced 50 explosive receptions of 20 yards or more, 10th in the NFL in that period and second only to Kittle (51) among 49ers players. Kittle played 46 games to Aiyuk’s 40 in that span.
Aiyuk’s average depth of target in his All-Pro 2023 season was 13.8 yards, the third-highest among wideouts with at least 100 targets. While it dipped to 11.9 yards in 2024, those numbers reflect his importance to an offense that transitioned to a dropback-heavy approach with a greater emphasis on downfield shots.
The 2023 season saw Aiyuk post the highest passer rating when targeted (149.3) among wideouts on passes of 20 yards or more, per Pro Football Focus.
As the 49ers progress in the evolution of their passing attack, moving on from a receiver with that kind of downfield prowess and with an evidently excellent understanding with Purdy would be the opposite of protecting a forthcoming investment in their quarterback.
With the returns in any trade likely to be disappointing because of the setback Aiyuk suffered in Week 7 last season, there is no football reason to part ways with a player who, assuming he can return to his best following his injury, will put Purdy in a substantially better position to succeed.
Instead, the offseason focus for the 49ers pertaining to Aiyuk should be to ensure they have sufficient insurance in the event his recovery and return to the field does not go to plan.
That could mean adding another receiver via the draft, or perhaps investing more in the tight end position to give the 49ers greater flexibility to lean more on 12 personnel sets while still carrying a significant passing game threat.
Having drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round in 2024 and seen Jauan Jennings enjoy a breakout season last year – both averaged over two yards per route run last year against the man coverage looks that have become a staple for teams defending the San Francisco offense – the 49ers might already feel well prepared to survive amid any potential issues with Aiyuk’s return.
The signing of Demarcus Robinson, an experienced veteran separator who averaged 16.3 yards per reception and scored seven touchdowns in 2024, should increase the 49ers’ confidence in that regard.
Successfully protecting against prolonged problems for their 2020 first-round pick is where the pressure lies for the 49ers pertaining to Aiyuk.
If the 49ers feel they have the right alternative answers in the building, then it’s up to the coaching staff to make sure that belief can be vindicated in 2025.
If they feel otherwise, then the onus should be on the front office not to find a way out of the Aiyuk contract in the coming days, but to settle on new young additions with the ability to impress quickly and minimize that deal as a topic of conversation if he is not ready come Week 1.