Even though Brandon Aiyuk doesn’t seem to be holding out, I believe a trade might be inevitable. Even though the front office has said they don’t intend on trading him, after everything he said, it’s hard to imagine the locker room will accept him back with open arms. Between the disrespect he’s shown the 49ers’ organization, the team drafting Ricky Pearsall, and Brock Purdy’s contract expiring in the immediate future, trading Aiyuk makes too much sense. That leaves us wondering who will trade for him. Aiyuk is a great player and any team would love to add him to their roster. However, it’s a more logical move for some teams rather than others. Since Aiyuk will not be holding out, a trade will only happen if a team puts an irresistible offer on the table. There are a handful of factors that teams should consider before making an irresistible offer for Aiyuk. Do we need to add a WR1? Does Aiyuk fit in our offense? Do we have the cap space to give him the contract he’s seeking? Are we in a position to accomplish our goals in his prime? Can we allow ourselves to part ways with the draft picks the 49ers will demand? For example, my Denver Broncos shouldn’t bring him in. They’re not in a win-now position, they’re still recovering from the salary cap chaos caused by cutting Russell Wilson, and they’re developing young receivers (Mims and Franklin) who need in-game reps. I reviewed all 32 teams in the NFL and asked these questions. Here are the teams for whom acquiring Brandon Aiyuk makes the most sense:
5. PITTSBURGH STEELERS:
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ elite defense led them to a 10W-7L record and a playoff berth in 2023. Since this defense won’t stick around forever, the Steelers need to figure out their offense and take advantage of this “win-now” window. The Steelers' offense has a couple of decent pieces, but they lack explosiveness. Outside of George Pickens, the Steelers don’t have anyone who can blow the top off a defense. They drafted Roman Wilson in the 3rd round, but he’s no more than a solid WR3. Adding Aiyuk would completely flip the theme of this offense. Imagine having Aiyuk and Pickens as the initial 1-2 punch with a bruising running back in Harris forcing defenses to keep men in the box, and having Pat Freiermuth along with the rookies Wilson and Washington as secondary options. It’s completely different than the lack of threats they’re working with now.
In addition, the Steelers can make it happen. After this year, Pittsburgh is expected to be in the top 3 in available cap space for the following 4 years. The Steelers are in position of all of their picks in the first 3 rounds over the upcoming 3 years. They can allow themselves to move some of those picks. The only reason the Steelers aren’t at the top of the list is their uncertainty at the quarterback position. It’s unclear how good Russell Wilson will be and if they’ll have to move to Justin Fields. If they do so, we don’t know how good Fields will be. Adding a great receiver will do nothing for them if they don’t have a signal caller who can get him the ball.
4. ARIZONA CARDINALS:
It is hard to imagine the 49ers handing Aiyuk over to a division rival. However, if the offer is irresistible they won’t shy away. It makes perfect sense for the Cardinals to make the 49ers an offer they cannot resist. In the first half of the 2023 season, before Murray’s return from injury, the Cardinals scored 16.7 points per game. In the 8 games after Murray returned, the Cardinals scored 22.4 points per game. Their offense began to take shape. The young offensive line stepped up, James Connor looked great, and Trey McBride emerged as a good young tight end. While Michael Wilson and Rondale Moore were solid, neither of them showed the ability to be more than a role player. The Cardinals offense needed legit receivers who will be game-wreckers. They added one in the 1st round of the draft in Marvin Harrison Jr., but relying on a rookie to play such a large role is unwise. Pairing him with Aiyuk, as WR1 and WR1A will complete their offense. Between Kyler Murray’s explosiveness, the existing weapons of McBride and Connor, and the best receiver duo in the NFL, the Cardinals’ offense can become unstoppable.
Arizona needs their offense to be unstoppable this year. Their defense is still years away from being good. Hence, they’re going to need a high-powered offense that can keep them in games and win shootouts. Extending Aiyuk’s contract won’t be an issue, Arizona has the 5th-most salary cap available. The Cardinals haven’t dealt away any of their upcoming top draft picks and can allow themselves to do so. While the 49ers might have a higher price for teams inside their division, it would be wise for the Cardinals to pay up.
3. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS:
One of the biggest parts of the issue between the Aiyuk and the 49ers has been Aiyuk constantly expressing interest in playing with Jayden Daniels. Daniels was Aiyuk’s quarterback in his final season of college football. In 12 games at Arizona State, the duo connected for 1,198 yards and 8 touchdowns. After the Commanders drafted Daniels in the past draft, Aiyuk instantly expressed interest in reuniting. As his contract dispute developed, Aiyuk went further and further with it. He went as far as saying on air that the 49ers don’t want him and that he wants to be traded to play with Daniels.
In addition, it would make sense for Washington to acquire him. They have the 3rd-most salary cap available and are expected to have high draft picks in the upcoming draft. They can easily trade for him and hand him a contract extension. Aiyuk would fit into their offense perfectly. Terry McLaurin is a mediocre WR1 but would be a great WR2. The same goes for their current WR2 and WR3, both Jahan Dotson and Luke McCaffrey would be much better fits if they were slid down to WR3 and WR4. The NFC East is at the weakest point it’s been in years. Now is the perfect opportunity for Washington to start a new era on the offensive side with Kliff Kingsbury, Jayden Daniels, and Brandon Aiyuk. They brought in 3 new starters on the offensive line, a new offensive coordinator, and a new quarterback, why not add a new featured receiver as well? My only concern is that it might take Washington a few years to become a Super Bowl contender. Aiyuk is 26 and he’ll probably already be on his way down in 3 or 4 years.
2. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS:
The Los Angeles Chargers rebooted their offense this offseason. After hiring Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers parted ways with Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Gerald Everett. They started working on building an offense similar to what Harbaugh had at Michigan. A run-first offense that can stretch the field. The Chargers signed a power back coming off a career year in Gus Edwards and drafted an offensive tackle, Joe Alt with the 5th pick of the draft. However, we know that teams can’t have consistent success in the NFL without a few real threats. The Chargers drafted Ladd McConkey early in the second round. McConkey is a good player, but there’s a reason that he was the 10th pass catcher drafted. He’s not the type of guy who can take over a game. The Chargers drafted a receiver early last year, Quentin Johnston. Johnston was greatly disappointing in his first year, catching only 38 of his 67 targets. He’s been struggling in camp again this year and was recently demoted to WR4. I’m ready to give up on Johnston. The Chargers’ other pass catchers, Josh Palmer, DJ Chark, and Will Dissly are all decent role players, but relying on them to carry the offense is wishful thinking. The Chargers won’t be a threat until they add a WR1, especially not with the Chiefs in their division. If they want to compete with Patric Mahomes, they’re going to have to make some big swings. After parting ways with so many veteran weapons, they have the cap space to keep Aiyuk around on a long-term contract. They haven’t traded away any first-round or second-round picks, this might be the time to do so.
1. DETROIT LIONS:
In the 2023 season, the Detroit Lions announced to the world that their Super Bowl window had opened. One of the factors that has allowed them to build such a good team is the having many players on cheap rookie contracts being major contributors. For the next 2 to 4 years, they’ll be getting great value from Aiden Hutchinson, Sam La Porta, Jahmyr Gibbs, Brian Branch, and many others. Eventually, these players will need contract renewals and the Lions will have to let some go. Therefore, they need to capitalize on the fact that they have all these great players and still have the 2nd-most salary cap available. The boys won’t be around forever, so they might as well take a big swing and put all this cap space to use.
The Lions are good at every position. However, they lack depth at wide receiver. Amon-Ra St. Brown is an incredible WR1, but everyone behind him is shaky. They drafted Jameson Williams in the 1st-round a couple of years ago, but he can’t stay on the field. The greatest ability is availability and between injuries and suspensions Williams seems to never be available. Thinking that he’ll magically get it together is wishful thinking. The guys behind Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Donovan Peoples-Jones, are fitting to be WR3 and WR4 at best. In addition, the Lions’ top competitor in the NFC is the team that Aiyuk is currently a part of. To complete their roster and become favorites in the NFC, the Lions need to make a play for Aiyuk. Dan Campbell is known for being aggressive on 4th down, I’d love to see him and Brad Holmes be aggressive here and go get Aiyuk.
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