Throughout this offseason, there has been speculation that the San Francisco 49ers would trade star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The former first-round pick is eligible for a contract extension, and with the team already paying big money to running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tackle left Trent Williams, the theory is that the Niners could ship Aiyuk and replace him with a cheaper option.
That made San Francisco’s selection of University of Florida player Ricky Pearsall — who began his college career at Arizona State, where he was a teammate of Aiyuk — quite interesting. But according to 49ers general manager John Lynch, Aiyuk was excited about the pick.
Aiyuk apparently texted Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan, letting them know what he thought. These thoughts, according to ESPN: “Fire pickaxe, I can’t lie.”
After the draft, Shanahan acknowledged that the team had had trade discussions involving both Aiyuk and Samuel, but noted that nothing had ever come close to happening and that he did not think anything would happen. .
“It doesn’t seem like it’s honest,” Shanahan said, according to ESPN. “But I’m still on the table. If someone proposed [owner] Jed [York] and John [Lynch] It’s a good thing for me, I’m going to go.”
Lynch, meanwhile, insisted the team was still working to get a deal done with Aiyuk and wanted Samuel to stick around as well.
“I know we continue our positive discussions with [Aiyuk] and we’re really striving to do something with him,” Lynch said. “We’re excited to continue on this path and have Brandon be a part of this team. Deebo is part of this team and a big part of this team. We feel good about this group and we feel like we have improved it with another very good addition, who complements the group very well. »
Aiyuk and Samuel are part of what is arguably the best group of players in the NFL, and their abilities have helped elevate the Niners’ Brock Purdy-led offense to new heights, including trips to the game for the NFC title and the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons. If San Francisco can find a way to keep them both in town while still incorporating Pearsall, that would probably be ideal. But things don’t always go the way you’d like, so we always have to keep an eye on potential trade possibilities until we finish the offseason with everyone still on the roster.
