49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk’s agent shuts down trade rumors… again

The 49ers’ chances of moving on from Brandon Aiyuk are seeming lesser and lesser by the day

With one week to go until the 2024 NFL Draft, trade buzz surrounding San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still rapid on the internet, but one source has remained adamant in shutting down the rumors: Aiyuk’s agent Ryan Williams.

After shutting down a report that Aiyuk requested a trade earlier in the week, Williams disregarded the notion that there’s been interest in trading the receiver, calling a report that the Steelers are aggressively pursuing his client as “fictional journalism”.

Now, the 49ers have remained steadfast in their beliefs that Aiyuk will remain with the team, presumably on a long-term extension, but several rebuffs from the receiver’s agent have seemingly cooled the trade rumors ahead of the draft.

The true inflection point will be the NFL Draft in one week, but you usually don’t see an agent come out and outwardly deny trade rumors about his client when the player is looking for a trade.

Of course, the questions around Aiyuk are: when will the receiver get his extension, and how much will it cost the team?

Both are legitimate questions that tie into each other, as there are still a number of talented receivers looking to secure extensions this offseason, including the likes of Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson and Dallas’s CeeDee Lamb.

The longer Aiyuk waits to agree to a long-term extension, the likelier that his deal will increase, as new extensions for other players will set the baseline for the receiver’s deal, similar to how Philadelphia’s Devonta Smith has set a good baseline after his three-year, $75 million extension earlier this week.

But, Aiyuk’s agent squashing the trade rumors on multiple occasions is not something to take lightly, as it indicates that he will look to remain in San Francisco, rather than attempt to force his way out ahead of the draft.

Additionally, it’s important to note that 49ers general manager John Lynch has openly shared that the team is willing to have Aiyuk play on the fifth-year option if the two sides cannot reach terms on an extension, further adding to the belief that the receiver will remain with the organization in 2024.

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