The San Francisco 49ers lost many key starters this offseason. They could look to trade Brandon Aiyuk as well and commit to a rebuild around Purdy and his new contract.
NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco reported that the San Francisco 49ers are not closing the door on a potential deal involving Aiyuk. General manager John Lynch was asked at the NFL Combine about potentially trading Aiyuk, and he did not shoot down the idea.
“You get calls and you always listen to calls,” Lynch responded to a question about Aiyuk. “I think since Kyle (Shanahan) and I have been here, we’ve been certainly a top five, I believe, number two, cash spending team in the four years. Going into the fourth year, I think 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 and I think there’s some good that could come out. We need to get younger, I think we’re the oldest team in football trying to make a run at the deal last year. And I think it’s good to constantly get younger.”
Last Word on Sports’ Anthony Palacios tabbed the Baltimore Ravens as a landing spot for Aiyuk if the 49ers trade him. The Ravens already have Zay Flowers, DeAndre Hopkins, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Adding Aiyuk to the mix could make their offense unstoppable.
“The same can be said about the Baltimore Ravens, even though they’re signing DeAndre Hopkins,” wrote Palacios. “Zay Flowers was and has been the only consistent receiver for Lamar Jackson, while Rashod Bateman has his moments of inconsistency. There’s no word on what will happen with Nelson Agholor, but the team should sign Aiyuk as a long-term investment to push when they share a division with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.”
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Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million deal last offseason. He is coming off a torn ACL, while Jauan Jennings broke out last season. Jennings and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall could be good enough to make things work next season for the 49ers.
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