After 49ers trade Deebo Samuel, could Patriots re-engage talks about Brandon Aiyuk?
NFL insider Ian Rapoport noted it's possible San Francisco moves on from both of its top receivers.
The Patriots have a big offseason ahead of them, rebuilding their roster from the ground up under new head coach Mike Vrabel. And while free agency doesn’t begin until March 12, that hasn’t stopped teams from getting a head start on the action.
The 49ers made a big splash on Saturday, trading wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Commanders for a fifth round pick. As San Francisco looks to trim its salary for next season, Samuel was the first piece to fall, but according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, he may not be the only one.
Speaking on “The Insiders,” Rapoport noted that Brandon Aiyuk could still be a trade candidate despite the 49ers already shipping away one of their receivers.
“This is a team that, I think they’d like to get a little younger … they got a lot of money invested in some offensive weapons, and they still need to pay some guys,” Rapoport said. “If they’re able to unload some money for maybe the right deal, it sounds like they may do it. But that’s a much harder trade to do than this [Deebo Samuel] trade.”
Brandon Aiyuk was heavily rumored as a trade target for New England last offseason, both during the 2024 NFL Draft and over the summer. Talks got so deep that there was reportedly “framework” for a trade before Aiyuk signed an extension with San Francisco. Although nothing materialized from those talks, if the 49ers make Aiyuk available, it’s certainly possible the Patriots would check in once again on the receiver.
Aiyuk is less appealing this offseason than he was a year ago, coming off an ACL tear while also having signed a $120 million contract last offseason. Still, the Patriots are in need of improvement to their wide receiver room and could at least entertain the possibility of a deal for Aiyuk.
The top-end free agent options at receiver are dwindling with Tee Higgins tagged by the Bengals and New England reportedly not pursuing him further. In fact, the Patriots aren’t prioritizing the receiver position in general this offseason; instead they’re emphasizing the trenches on both sides of the ball. Whether they’d be willing to allocate a substantial amount of cap space to Aiyuk is unclear, and would likely depend on how things shake out for the Patriots elsewhere in free agency.
So, while a move for Aiyuk isn’t particularly likely at this juncture, he is another name on the radar as far as receiver options go. And if the Patriots and 49ers are already familiar with the conversations surrounding Aiyuk, it wouldn’t be far-fetched for the sides to re-emerge as potential trade partners under the right circumstances.
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