The San Francisco 49ers have made wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk available over the past few years, but after injuring himself during the 2024-25 campaign, it remains uncertain what the 49ers’ plan is.
According to a recent report from Mike Florio, however, the 49ers are interested in moving on from him.
Per Florio, the 49ers would love to move on from Aiyuk’s contract, which might have some truth to it. However, the 49ers also don’t have a great wide receiver unit right now, and when Aiyuk returns from his injury, he’d be much needed on the roster.
“The 49ers would love to unload Brandon Aiyuk’s contract on the Steelers,” Florio said on “93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.”
Potential Aiyuk Landing Spots
Searching for landing spots for the San Francisco 49ers’ wide receiver, Marissa Meyers of TWSN predicted he’d be traded to the Cleveland Browns. She added that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make sense for him after trading George Pickens, but that the Browns need a star wide receiver to pair with any of their five quarterbacks, and with Pittsburgh already paying DK Metcalf, trading for somebody like Aiyuk might not make too much sense.
For the 49ers, they shouldn’t be too concerned about where they send him. Ultimately, the 49ers need to get the best trade package in return, whether from the Browns, Steelers, or any other team.
“While the Pittsburgh Steelers would be a logical destination for the 49ers to trade Brandon Aiyuk to after they just traded away George Pickens, and need someone other than Robert Woods opposite DK Metcalf, the trade doesn’t make sense. With Pittsburgh already paying Metcalf $33 million yearly, it doesn’t make financial sense.
“Instead, the Cleveland Browns make sense if the 49ers truly do want to trade Aiyuk. As it currently stands the Browns need a solidified top wide receiver as Jerry Jeudy is good, but not a top-tier talent. That, plus the Browns need more notable talent at the position as Cedric Tillman and Jamari Thrash won’t cut it,” she wrote.
Relationship Reportedly Soured
After contract issues during last offseason, the San Francisco 49ers ended up giving Aiyuk the money he was looking for. However, according to Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated, there could be a scenario where that relationship between Aiyuk and the team is broken, and if they plan to move on from him after 2026, why not trade him now if his value would be higher?
“It’s possible the relationship between the team and Aiyuk is broken after a bitter contract negotiation last year. In addition, it’s possible the 49ers simply don’t think Aiyuk will be worth the contract they gave him last year.
“I think it’s highly unlikely that Aiyuk will be on the team in 2026,” he wrote. “So why not trade him now if there’s a team interested in him?”
There could also be an argument that Aiyuk might have more value when he’s on the field for the 49ers, which wasn’t the case for parts of the 2024 season after going down with that gruesome injury.
However, teams still might be willing to part ways with picks and more, given he’s been a valuable wide receiver for much of his career.
