The Brandon Aiyuk trade sweepstakes could kick into high gear soon. The 2023 All-Pro receiver has been looking for a hefty contract extension all offseason long but hasn't found it yet. This has put the San Francisco 49ers in a bind. San Francisco has to pay Deebo Samuel and Brock Purdy soon as well. These circumstances have put Aiyuk and the 49ers in trade rumors throughout the offseason, which were exacerbated by a TikTok video the wideout put out.
Perhaps this is Aiyuk trying to get leverage on the situation. Regardless, if it's true that the 49ers ‘don't want him' and don't want to pay him what he wants, then it makes all the sense in the world for them to trade him. If the 49ers were to trade Aiyuk, the Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Chargers stand out as great fits for the All-Pro.
Brandon Aiyuk reunites with Jayden Daniels on the Commanders
The Commanders make a lot of sense as a potential Brandon Aiyuk trade destination for a couple of reasons.
For one, he is familiar with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, evidenced by that FaceTime call recorded in the video. Aiyuk and Daniels were teammates at Arizona State back in 2019. The wideout brought in 65 receptions for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns that season for the Sun Devils.
The Commanders have a solid group of receivers already. Terry McLaurin is still one of the best in the game at the position and Jahan Dotson still projects as a solid number two option. But bringing in an All-Pro caliber player with experience to play alongside Daniels — who Washington projects as their franchise quarterback — can't hurt either.
Daniels isn't the only one in the Commanders organization who has familiarity with Aiyuk and his game, either.
The team's front office does too. Adam Peters was named as the general manager of Washington earlier this offseason. Peters' previous stop before earning that promotion? That's right, it was in San Francisco. He was a member of the 49ers' front office when they drafted Aiyuk back in 2020.
With Daniels on a rookie contract, the Commanders should have plenty of money to spend on the future elsewhere to surround him with talent. Aiyuk would certainly qualify. He'd be a great fit in Washington.
The Bills find a new star receiver
Time had run its course in Buffalo between the Bills and Stefon Diggs. They traded him to the Houston Texans for a second-round pick in 2025. That was just the start of the series of changes Buffalo made to their wide receiver room.
They traded back multiple times from the end of the first round to the start of the second to select Florida State's Keon Coleman. They also signed Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Chase Claypool after Gabe Davis signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
It's a new room with some intriguing pieces to go with tight end Dalton Kincaid, but none of these guys are close to Aiyuk's level. The Bills will always be competitive thanks to Josh Allen, but replacing his All-Pro receiver with a new one would make a lot of sense.
The Chargers grab a new weapon for Justin Herbert
Speaking of teams with revamped wide receiver rooms, the Chargers will look very different next season after moving on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the offseason. They did select Georgia's Ladd McConkey, USC's Brenden Rice, and Michigan's Cornelius Johnson in the 2024 NFL Draft, but McConkey is the only one of those three with assured playing time.
After him are the likes of Joshua Palmer, DJ Chark Jr., and Quentin Johnston. Hayden Hurst, Will Dissly, and Donald Parham Jr. are the Chargers' tight end options. Gus Edwards, JK Dobbins, and Kimani Vidal make up their running back room.
The Chargers have arguably the worst group of skill position players in the NFL.
That is obviously a problem when one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL is on the Chargers' roster. Justin Herbert is exceptional and should thrive in Jim Harbaugh's system. But he's going to need weapons to help that system sing.
The Chargers' cap situation is in rough shape at the moment but should lighten up in the future. $53 million in dead cap money comes off their books next season. That's their path to giving Aiyuk the big extension he wants. If the Chargers can swing a trade for Aiyuk they absolutely should. It makes too much sense for all parties involved.
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