On Thursday, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension to remain with the San Francisco 49ers, finally ending the hold-in he had staged since the start of training camp.
This saga was an unusual one that featured plenty of twists and turns, as the 49ers seemed open to trading him just a couple of weeks ago.
They reportedly reached trade agreements with the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, but those weren’t the only teams they talked to regarding a potential Aiyuk trade.
Per The Athletic, they looked to acquire wide receiver Courtland Sutton from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a third-round draft pick, and had Denver said yes, they would’ve then sent Aiyuk to Pittsburgh.
However, Denver said no deal.
The 49ers had reached out to the Broncos for Courtland Sutton, league sources tell @DMRussini.
If Denver took an offer of a third-round pick for Sutton, San Francisco would have been willing to trade Aiyuk to the Steelers.
Denver passed on the offer.https://t.co/wdueRTtCTT pic.twitter.com/R6RsNgfkJS
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 30, 2024
The Niners played hardball with other teams in trade negotiations, partly because they wanted a star or near-star wideout in return since they have been Super Bowl contenders for the last five years but haven’t won it all since the 1994 season.
Sutton may have been a solid consolation prize after getting rid of Aiyuk — he had 59 catches for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns this past year, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2019, his second pro season.
But he isn’t quite the threat as Aiyuk, who had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023.
Aiyuk is two years younger than Sutton and seems to be on an upward trajectory when it comes to his production, and he has seemingly upped his production ever since San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took over as a starter in Week 13 of the 2022 season.
