On Thursday, vast receiver Brandon Aiyuk agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension to stay with the San Francisco 49ers, lastly ending the hold-in he had staged for the reason that begin of coaching camp.
This saga was an uncommon one which featured loads of twists and turns, because the 49ers appeared open to buying and selling him simply a few weeks in the past.
They reportedly reached commerce agreements with the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, however these weren’t the one groups they talked to concerning a possible Aiyuk commerce.
Per The Athletic, they appeared to amass vast receiver Courtland Sutton from the Denver Broncos in change for a third-round draft decide, and had Denver mentioned sure, they might’ve then despatched Aiyuk to Pittsburgh.
Nevertheless, Denver mentioned no deal.
The 49ers had reached out to the Broncos for Courtland Sutton, league sources inform @DMRussini.
If Denver took a suggestion of a third-round decide for Sutton, San Francisco would have been prepared to commerce Aiyuk to the Steelers.
Denver handed on the provide.https://t.co/wdueRTtCTT pic.twitter.com/R6RsNgfkJS
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 30, 2024
The Niners performed hardball with different groups in commerce negotiations, partly as a result of they needed a star or near-star wideout in return since they’ve been Tremendous Bowl contenders for the final 5 years however haven’t gained all of it for the reason that 1994 season.
Sutton could have been a stable comfort prize after eliminating Aiyuk — he had 59 catches for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns this previous yr, and he made the Professional Bowl in 2019, his second professional season.
However he isn’t fairly the menace as Aiyuk, who had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023.
Aiyuk is 2 years youthful than Sutton and appears to be on an upward trajectory with regards to his manufacturing, and he has seemingly upped his manufacturing ever since San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took over as a starter in Week 13 of the 2022 season.
