Could San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Draw Interest Beyond the Washington Commanders?
· Yahoo Sports
Ever since the NFL offseason began, it's seemed to be a forgone conclusion that once the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk part ways, the 28-year-old would end up with the Washington Commanders.
Aiyuk has a long-time connection to the Commanders star quarterback, Jaden Daniels, as the duo shared time together at Arizona State in 2019.
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Fans and media alike have operated under this assumption since the Aiyuk saga started — but could there be interest from teams besides Washington?
Any NFL squad would typically welcome a new weapon, and especially one of Aiyuk's caliber when healthy.
Courtesy of ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, two other teams have been floated as possible landing spots once Aiyuk has departed the Bay Area.
"Now, teams like Washington or anybody else who may look at receivers; you know Baltimore's been a little thin there, Kansas City," Fowler said on SportsCenter. "Whoever gets involved, they're probably not going to trade for him, they're going to wait for him to get released and then he's not going to have the market he had a couple of years ago, but he could still bring value as a former top-10 receiver."
While it's always been assumed that Aiyuk would end up catching passes from Daniels, the thought of teaming up with Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson has to be intriguing to the former first-round pick.
And if it is intriguing to Aiyuk, assuming the Ravens and Chiefs share the intrigue, Niners GM John Lynch suddenly has even more to work with.
Let's be clear: San Francisco has, and still does, hold all the leverage here. There's very little chance Aiyuk "forces himself" elsewhere, especially since his recent social media tirade resulted in zero movement from the Niners front office.
But perhaps Lynch could swing a trade if he's able to convince Washington, Baltimore or Kansas City that another contender is interested in acquiring Aiyuk.
The contract would be tough to sell any front office on, but there is a — while unlikely — world where Lynch could manage to get something in return for Aiyuk.
The likeliest scenario remains that Aiyuk is released and eventually free to sign wherever he chooses, but the mention of a team other than the Commanders is a new development.
Fans should continue anticipating Aiyuk eventually landing in Washington, but San Francisco still has plenty of options to exhaust before the receiver "needs" to be released.