“Hello darkness, my old friend…”

Brandon Aiyuk is back in the news, folks. The San Francisco 49ers are walking a delicate tightrope this offseason ahead of what figures to be a substantial contract extension for QB Brock Purdy. With one of the NFL’s highest payrolls and a roster in clear need of reformation, the Niners will need to make some tough cuts.

Deebo Samuel has already received permission to speak with potential trade suitors. There has been a lot of buzz around Christian McCaffrey’s future, although it’s hard to imagine the Niners parting ways with their best playmaker. Next up in the pecking order, of course, is Brandon Aiyuk.

We all remember last summer, when Aiyuk was a staple in trade rumors for months on end. The news cycle shifted constantly around Aiyuk, who openly flirted with Mike Tomlin on social media, decried the lack of respect shown by the Niners front office, and then eventually accepted an offer that had been on the table for weeks.

It was a cycle both dizzying and enervating. Trade rumors are fun to a certain point, but when a player and a front office are at a stalemate for literal months on end, it can get a bit tiring. Especially when both sides keeping recylcing the same old talking points in a vain effort to establish leverage.

Aiyuk wound up back in San Francisco on a four-year, $120 million contract, which is what he wanted all along. His first season after the payday went south quickly, however. Aiyuk averaged 3.6 receptions per game through seven weeks before a double ligament tear in his knee put an end to his campaign.

Now, Aiyuk’s future is under the microscope… again.

49ers listening to Brandon Aiyuk trade offers, per GM John Lynch

With reports of teams “poking around” Aiyuk, Niners general manager John Lynch was asked about the 26-year-old’s future with the organization. Rather than shutting those rumors down, Lynch poured gasoline on the fire with a lengthy spiel about San Francisco’s complicated cap situation.

“That typically happens with really good players. I remember two years ago having similar conversations,” Lynch told reports (h/t Sports Illustrated). “You get calls and you always listen to calls. Since Kyle (Shanahan) and I have been here, we’ve been the No. 2 cash-spending team. In the last four years, we’re the fourth-highest cash-spending team. So at some point, you have to reset a little bit, or at least recalibrate. You can’t just keep pressing the pedal.”

It sure sounds like Lynch is open to trading Aiyuk. Maybe he even wants to. Aiyuk’s trade value is difficult to gauge coming off such an uninspiring season (and a major knee injury), but his $120 million contract valuation is a bit misleading. Aiyuk’s base salary for 2025 is just $1.2 million, with a $22.8 million signing bonus tacked on. It’s a similar setup for next season, with an out ahead of the 2027 campaign.

Only $76 million of Aiyuk’s contract is guaranteed at the end of the day, so it’s not exactly an exorbitant price. His deal is also constructed to limit the impact on a team’s cap sheet, so more cash-poor (or cap-limited) teams can justify the investment.

At 26, Aiyuk should have more productive seasons in the tank. He’s an electric playmaker at full strength, offering a unique blend of physicality and quickness when lined up wide. A lot of contenders and wannabe contenders need help in the WR room. Teams who missed out of Aiyuk last offseason might circle back around with the window of opportunity newly reopened.