Patriots star stirs up speculation after appearing to endorse Brandon Aiyuk trade
Brandon Aiyuk has expressed his wishes for the San Francisco 49ers to trade him, sooner rather than later. The wide receiver is reportedly unhappy in San Francisco and is looking for a fresh start elsewhere. The New England Patriots have been considered a landing spot for Aiyuk and now the move appears to be getting an endorsement.
New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon, reshared a post on X stating that it was time to trade for Aiyuk, possibly for a second-round pick. The post also said that New England should immediately extend his contract as well to over five years for $125 million.
"There is absolutely no reason why the @Patriots haven’t traded for and extended Brandon Aiyuk yet."
With the repost on X, it appears that Judon is in favor of his New England Patriots trading for Brandon Aiyuk and wanted everyone to know his opinion on the subject.
Rumors about Aiyuk being traded have circulated over the offseason as he reportedly wanted a contract extension. Just last week, Aiyuk formally asked the San Francisco 49ers to trade him.
New England Patriots tried to acquire Brandon Aiyuk before draft
This isn't the first time that the New England Patriots have tried to acquire Brandon Aiyuk. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, reported that the Patriots tried to work out a trade for the wide receiver in April before the 2024 NFL Draft.
Florio said it was unclear what the San Francisco 49ers asking price was, and that five NFL teams were interested in acquiring the 26-year-old WR, however, to no avail.
"Regardless, there were five teams, we’re told, who were ready to pay Aiyuk what he wanted before the draft. If they could also reach acceptable trade terms with the 49ers, he would have been traded."
"That part didn’t happen. It’s unclear what the 49ers wanted at the time. They rejected an offer of a second-round pick from the Patriots. Other interested teams were, and potentially still are, the Steelers and Commanders." Florio said
Florio added that he knew the New England Patriots offered a second-round draft pick and it was rejected. Whether additional picks or even a first-round pick will be needed to close a deal on Aiyuk remains to be seen.
If the Patriots want to talks to continue, they will have to compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders who are also said to be very interested.