Should the Cowboys trade for 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk?

The San Francisco 49ers and receiver Brandon Aiyuk have been far apart on a new contract for a while, and now, Aiyuk has officially requested a trade from the team that selected him with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Arizona State.

As Aiyuk has become a highly productive receiver in Kyle Shanahan's offense, it stands to reason that a lot of teams will be interested. However, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reports , the 49ers are not inclined to move Aiyuk, who is in the last year of his rookie contract . Aiyuk wants to be paid as what he believes he is -- one of the best receivers in the NFL. So, what would that look like for the Dallas Cowboys, and should the Cowboys drop the hammer on that kind of deal?

On its face, it looks like a good prospect. Pairing Aiyuk with CeeDee Lamb at the top of Dallas' receiver depth chart would give Dak Prescott all kinds of options. Per OverTheCap.com, Dallas currently has a little over $12 million in salary cap space for the 2024 season, so Jerry Jones would have to move some things around.

And that's where it gets complicated.

The Cowboys have already been late on extending their own stars -- starting with Prescott and Lamb, and you can throw Micah Parsons into the equation as well. So, trading for Aiyuk, and giving him the kind of contract he wants ( north of $25 million per year , most likely) probably wouldn't play too well in the locker room.

So, while it might be tempting for the Jones boys to go all-out for a receiver of Aiyuk's talent, they'd be wiser spending that money in-house.