NFL Insider Predicts the 49ers Will Trade Brandon Aiyuk

What a mistake this would be.

The last time the 49ers lost a Super Bowl, a few months later they traded franchise cornerstone DeForest Buckner and attempted to draft his replacement because they thought Buckner would be too expensive.

The 49ers could do something similar this year.

Brandon Aiyuk is eligible for a contract extension, and he's worth more than $25 million per season considering Deebo Samuel gets almost $24 million per season and Aiyuk is better and younger than him. Aiyuk has emerged as a premier wide receiver in the NFL. And yet, the 49ers still treat him like a complimentary player, considering he got targeted just six times in the Super Bowl.

It seems unlikely that the 49ers, who ranked dead last in pass attempts in 2023, would pay almost $50 million per season for two wide receivers. Which is why ESPN's Dan Graziano expects the 49ers to trade Aiyuk this offseason.

"The most likely way this shakes out is Aiyuk ends up getting traded to a team where he's the clear No. 1 wideout and where he can get the extension he wants, leaving the 49ers to draft his replacement in the first round. That's the cleanest way for them to address all of their needs. I see San Francisco extending (Talanoa) Hufanga and coming to some sort of arrangement with (Kyle) Juszczyk and (Dre) Greenlaw that keeps them both around. That leaves the 49ers to run it back with the same basic core, some upgrades in key spots and Aiyuk cheering them on from afar."

If the 49ers trade Aiyuk, they'll regret it, because his best years are ahead of him. All he needs is more opportunities, which his next team will give him.