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49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk does not list Bills among his Top 3 likely destinations

San Francisco 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk doesn't seem too keen on the idea of playing for the Buffalo Bills, but here's why he should be.

Greg Vorse

Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second half of the NFC Championship football game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) makes a catch for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second half of the NFC Championship football game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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Since the Buffalo Bills traded perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans this past April, fans and media have linked the team to any wideout potentially on the trade market. Those whispers have been the loudest on social media with regard to disgruntled San Francisco 49ers' pass catcher Brandon Aiyuk, but the Arizona State product threw water on those flames during a recent appearance on The Pivot podcast.

Aiyuk told host Ryan Clark that the top three uniforms he believed he could wear in 2024 were: "Probably a Niners uniform. If not a Niners uniform, probably a Washington Commanders uniform. If not a Washington Commanders uniform, probably a [Pittsburgh] Steelers uniform."

Two of those three franchises make perfect sense. Aiyuk is currently under contract with the 49ers, who owe him north of $14 million in 2024 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2025. The Commanders are the home of one of Aiyuk's close friends -- quarterback Jayden Daniels, who threw passes to the wideout for a short time in Tempe. The Steelers are the odd team out without any obvious connections to the All-Pro WR, which leads to the question: why not the Bills?

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The easy answer is that Brandon Beane and the Bills don't have the cap space to bring in a player of Aiyuk's talent at this point in the offseason. According to Over The Cap, Buffalo has $10,138,145 in cap space. Some money will need to be set aside for in-season transactions, which doesn't leave nearly enough for an alpha wideout addition during this particular summer.

If we set aside financials for the sake of fun, the Bills are a perfect fit for Aiyuk's services. First, they need a primary pass catcher with the aforementioned loss of Diggs. His departure alongside Gabriel Davis leaves 241 vacated targets to fill in Buffalo's passing attack. Second, they have an MVP-level quarterback in Josh Allen. Third, Bills' offensive coordinator Joe Brady had already guided an offense that spread the ball to all its targets when his LSU team won the National Championship in 2019 with Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Terrace Marshall all catching passes from Joe Burrow. If the Bills could figure out the financials and draft compensation for Aiyuk, Buffalo would be a fantastic fit for the former first-round pick.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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