Brandon Aiyuk's teammate surprised by 49ers WR's trade request
Brandon Aiyuk's trade request was made all but official earlier this week with multiple reports stating that the San Francisco 49ers playmaker wants out. Aiyuk and the Niners were locked in negotiations over a long-term deal especially with his rookie contract winding down this year.
However, it appears Aiyuk was not too happy with how those negotiations panned out and ultimately demanded a trade. At the time of writing, the Niners remain adamant about refusing to trade Aiyuk, though one AFC team has already reached out to explore a potential move.
In any case, it wasn't just Niners fans who were caught by surprise by Brandon Aiyuk's trade request. Aiyuk's teammate Deommodore Lenoir also didn't have a clue that Aiyuk wanted out. Lenoir was on Kay Adams' Up and Adams Show on Tuesday and had this to say about his teammate's trade request:
“I was surprised just because I thought the deal would’ve been done by now. Just because what he’s done this past season. I felt like he was unguardable last year. Him coming back, with all the new additions, the pieces we added, I feel like who’s gonna be able to stop this team?”
Why Brandon Aiyuk requested a trade away from the 49ers
This is where it gets a little messy. But we've seen the Niners get through this before, mainly with Deebo Samuel.
In 2022, Samuel requested to be traded and all signs pointed to the 2021 All-Pro never playing for the franchise ever again. Instead, he signed a three-year, $71.55 million extension and his 2024 will now amount to $20.972 million as part of that deal.
Aiyuk's situation is eerily similar to Samuel's.
In an appearance on the Pivot Podcast earlier this year, Aiyuk addressed the rumors that were swirling at the time around his negotiations with the Niners. One report from the San Francisco Chronicle stated that the franchise offered him $26 million a year. However, Aiyuk was reportedly looking at a deal that would clock in at $28 million a year, much like the one the Detroit Lions handed Amon-Ra St. Brown this year.
In any case, once some numbers were out in the media, Aiyuk took notice. He said on the podcast:
“It’s a little bit frustrating for actual numbers to come out. I felt like it was a little bit disrespectful and a little bit unfair to me.
"It’s a dirty game."