The Brandon Aiyuk trade chatter has cooled off over the last several days. It seems that Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers have been back at the negotiating table working toward an extension, but they have had nearly six months to work on it and still no deal. It truly feels like a 50-50 toss-up at this point whether he will agree to an extension with the 49ers or otherwise be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kay Adams was at 49ers practice today and asked 49ers WR Deebo Samuel if he is worried about Aiyuk leaving and what it could mean for their Super Bowl hopes.
“Am I worried? Can we win the Super Bowl without [Brandon Aiyuk]?” Samuel said in a clip from Up and Adams posted on X. “I think BA’s gonna be a part of this team, so we don’t have to worry about that.”
It is unclear if this is just wishful thinking or Samuel knowing something that the rest of us don’t, but he seems pretty confident that his teammate will remain in San Francisco.
Funny enough, Samuel has been linked to these Aiyuk discussions in a roundabout way. Dating back to the draft, there’s been speculation that an Aiyuk extension could mean a Samuel trade. Aiyuk’s deal should come in somewhere in the $28 to $30 million range and Samuel is already counting for over $28 million against the 49ers’ salary cap this year, per Over The Cap.
They have a number of highly paid players on the roster and OT Trent Williams is holding out for a new contract as well. All this with QB Brock Purdy’s massive extension looming next offseason.
The 49ers are on the cusp of winning a Super Bowl, and that can be worth some temporary discomfort with the salary cap. Losing Aiyuk would certainly diminish their championship hopes.
