Herein lies the problem with the San Francisco 49ers. They are trying to free up cap space so they can sign quarterback Brock Purdy to a long-term extension before the season starts.
They have been working all offseason to shed high salaries. The biggest problem the 49ers will have is moving the contract of Brandon Aiyuk, who is still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL.
Chances are even if they find a willing trade partner, Aiyuk might not be able to pass a physical which would nullify any trade.
Teams would probably offer up to a third-round pick for Aiyuk, conditioned upon his ability to be able to pass a physical. They could also package Aiyuk and the No. 11 pick to move up in the first round.
They would have to shop him to teams with a lot of cap space and a young, inexpensive quarterback to fit Aiyuk within the salary parameters, or have him restructure his agreement to make it more cap friendly.
Of course, a team is taking the risk he will not be ready for the start of training camp.
The 49ers do not need more veterans in return for Aiyuk. They need draft choices that will play under the rookie wage scale. A move up in the first round will allow San Francisco to draft a better player, preferably an offensive or defensive lineman, which is what they need the most.
In a best case scenario, they package Aiyuk and their first-round pick for a Top-5 pick and get a real game-changer.
But worst-case? It’s a trade dump of a star-quality player.
