The San Francisco 49ers were here two years ago with Deebo Samuel, and now they are once again in a situation where they have an All-Pro wide receiver requesting a trade.
Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk has submitted a trade request, having seemingly lost patience with contract negotiations that have not progressed to the point where an agreement on a long-term extension is close.
The news comes after Aiyuk met with 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan late last month to discuss the contract impasse.
That discussion was reportedly a positive one, but Garafolo reported that, even in the wake of the meeting, the 49ers haven't been willing to engage in negotiations, a stance they have held since May.
It is therefore not surprising that Aiyuk has succumbed to his frustration about the situation and requested a trade.
The 49ers reportedly discussed a trade with the Washington Commanders, a team that makes sense for Aiyuk as a landing spot given his connection with Jayden Daniels, during the draft.
But the 49ers can obviously no longer net draft assets that would help them this year in a trade, lowering any incentive to deal Aiyuk. San Francisco has him under his fifth-year option and has the weapon of the franchise tag in its back pocket for next offseason. In other words, the 49ers essentially have all the leverage.
The one bit of leverage of Aiyuk does have is the power to request a trade, and his usage of it is, most likely, a play to finally get the Niners to the table ahead of their typical soft deadline of the start of training camp next week. Even with this latest dramatic development, the likelihood is still that Aiyuk follows in Samuel's footsteps in signing a deal with the 49ers after requesting a trade.
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