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The Browns and the Patriots are the Favorites to Trade for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk

He probably doesn't want to play for either team.

Grant Cohn

Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) just misses a catch during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) just misses a catch during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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It's beginning to seem like Brandon Aiyuk has played his last game with the 49ers.

They still haven't made any progress on a contract extension, and now there's a report that Aiyuk is not expected to play for the 49ers in 2024. Cam Marino of NFLDraftBuzz.com writes that the Browns and the Patriots are the favorites to trade for Aiyuk and that both teams will pay him more than $30 million per season if they get him.

It seems reasonable to assume that both the Browns and the Patriots are offering the 49ers trade packages that they would accept. I'm guessing the Browns would offer Amari Cooper and draft picks while the Patriots would offer Kendrick Bourne and draft picks. If that's the case, then the hold-up is Aiyuk.

He probably doesn't want to play for either team. I certainly wouldn't want to play for the Browns. Would you want to play with Deshaun Watson? He hasn't been a good quarterback since 2020. And the Patriots might be the worst team in the NFL.

Aiyuk probably is hoping that the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Washington Commanders will make the 49ers a competitive trade offer soon. The Commanders could offer Terry McLaurin and picks, while the Steelers could offer Van Jefferson and picks. But if they haven't made those offers by now, they probably won't.

Aiyuk has to decide if he'd rather play on his fifth-year option with the 49ers or sign a lucrative contract extension with Cleveland or New England. I don't think he has a third option.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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