Reporter names 'most motivated team' to land 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk in trade

Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported on Monday night that the San Francisco 49ers "have negotiated the framework of trades that would send wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to the Cleveland Browns or the New England Patriots."

For a piece published Tuesday afternoon, Patriots reporter Chad Graff of The Athletic explained why he believes New England "might be the most motivated team in the league to land Aiyuk" this summer.

"The Browns don’t have the short-term cap space of the Patriots who have signaled their top goal is landing a No. 1 receiver for [rookie quarterback Drake Maye]," Graff wrote. "They want to follow the league trend of acquiring a top receiver for a quarterback on a rookie deal."

While the Browns signed signal-caller Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract in March 2022, New England has Maye locked down on a relatively inexpensive rookie deal for the next four seasons (with a fifth-year option included). Aiyuk, meanwhile, is in the final year of his rookie contract and is looking to cash in via a lucrative extension that could make him one of the league's highest-paid receivers.

"The Patriots were willing to offer free agent Calvin Ridley more than $25M per year this spring, but he took less than that to go to the Tennessee Titans," Graff continued. "Given that, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were willing to offer Aiyuk more than any other team."

With that said, it's unclear if money would be enough to convince Aiyuk to leave an advertised Super Bowl contender to join a Patriots team in the middle of a multi-year rebuild. The 2023 Browns made the playoffs even though Watson missed over half the season because of a shoulder injury.

As of the first Tuesday of August, all signs point to the Patriots starting veteran Jacoby Brissett over Maye for their regular-season opener at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 8. Graff mentioned the Patriots "could turn to Maye earlier in the season" than some have suggested if the first-year pro has a true No. 1 receiver such as Aiyuk as a weapon, but there's currently no guarantee Aiyuk and New England will come to terms on the type of extension he wants before Week 1.