Brandon Aiyuk’s agent disputed social media speculation over the wide receiver requesting a trade.
An account claimed Sunday morning that Aiyuk asked the San Francisco 49ers to trade him ahead of his contract year. The rumors spread like wildfire before Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, denied the report in a short and simple post.
“You need better sources,” Williams told John Frascella.
One thing is certain: Aiyuk will currently play the 2024 season under a fifth-year rookie option. He can enter the open market next offseason if he doesn’t land an extension.
Aiyuk justified a long-term bonus by registering 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished as a second-team All-Pro with the NFL’s second-most yards per catch (17.9) behind George Pickens.
The former No. 25 overall pick tallied 149 more yards and a touchdown in the playoffs, including a fortuitous grab off the helmet of a Detroit Lions defender during San Francisco’s NFC Championship Game comeback.
Amid constant speculation of a possible departure, the 49ers locked down Deebo Samuel to a long-term deal before the 2023 season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence that the same would happen for Aiyuk.
“You’ve just got to be patient,” Shanahan said earlier this month, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “You’ve got to let it play itself out, not get involved. And usually when you’re in a situation like we are where you’ve got a real good player who wants to be here, and we want the player to be here extremely bad too, what I found with us, it doesn’t always happen right away. But it’s a matter of time [before] it ends up working out.”