Though indications are that they prefer not to, the San Francisco 49ers may be forced to trade one of their biggest stars on offense.
All offseason long, the 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk have been in a standoff regarding Aiyuk's future contract situation. After San Francisco picked up Aiyuk's fifth-year option, both sides have been unable to agree on what he should be paid moving forward.
The 49ers have had trade offers from at least three teams for Aiyuk, but appear to prefer keeping him and continuing to work on an extension. But if that changes, the scope of teams Aiyuk may end up playing for could grow exponentially.
In any trade, one team's loss is the other's potential gain. And one writer believes the Jacksonville Jaguars could stand to gain in a big way in a trade with San Francisco.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report named the Jaguars as one of his top hypothetical destinations for Aiyuk in a recent article.
"Jacksonville is reaching a potential point of desperation now that Lawrence is getting big bucks, and the franchise does have money to spend with a top-10 ranking in terms of cap space," Gagnon said.
Aiyuk, 26, would unquestionably become the Jaguars' number-one receiving option if acquired. The second-team All-Pro put up 1.342 receiving yards in 2023, while no current Jags pass-catcher had more than tight end Evan Engram's 963.
Though Aiyuk is set to make $14.1 million in 2024, expectations are that a contract extension would likely require double that amount annually. And without the guarantee of an extension, Aiyuk would be unlikely to accept a trade just about anywhere.
The Jaguars have nearly $24 million in cap space for 2024, according to Spotrac . That figure is the ninth-most in the league.
If Jacksonville could swing a deal for Aiyuk, it would drastically shift their chances of winning a hotly competitive AFC South division in 2024. But there are a lot of steps required to make such a deal happen.
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