Last year, the Browns reportedly offered a 2nd, 4th, and Amari Cooper for Brandon Aiyuk after he caught 75 receptions (24th among receivers) for 1342 receiving yards(7th). That season, after finally agreeing on an extension with the 49ers, he tore his ACL. Now this offseason, the 49ers are unloading lots of pieces, and Aiyuk is expected to be part of that.

But why would we want to trade for a WR who just tore his ACL, and got a massive contract? I don’t think acquiring Brandon Aiyuk is as expensive in terms of trade capital and on the cap as people think. Aiyuk is mainly linked to the Browns, and there hasn’t been much smoke from other teams. This could tell us that he isn’t receiving much interest on the trade market after recently tearing his ACL. I don’t believe him tearing his ACL when he is 27 years old makes him untouchable for me. You likely can get him for late round picks, when just a year ago his trade value was much higher. I posted on twitter an idea to trade Greg Newsome, 2 2025 6ths, and a 2026 5th for Aiyuk, but I could see him going for even less than that. That would be a steal of a trade.

But what about his massive contract, and its cap implications? People often look at cap numbers in situations like this, when they want to know how much it would cost to trade for a player. I would encourage you to look at the base salary, which does not include the roster bonuses that the other team has to pay, that you don’t. Brandon Aiyuk’s base salary in 2025 and 2026 is around 1.1 million, so he would be very cheap for the next 2 years. However, people often raise concerns about the 2 years after that. In 2027 and 2028, Aiyuk has a 27 million, and then a 29 million dollar base salary. However, there is no guaranteed money on those 2 years, so the Browns could easily just keep Aiyuk for his 2 cheap years, then cut him. In 2027 they get the chance to decide whether he is worth the salary, depending on how he played in 2025 and 2026.

Overall, Trading for Brandon Aiyuk is a great way to get good, proven talent in a WR room that needs it, without giving up much in draft capital, or on the cap. Our current WR room is Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, Michael Woods, Jamari Thrash, and David Bell. Jerry Jeudy had a good year last year, but he has to prove that a 2nd year in a row with a QB other than Jameis Winston. Tillman looked good before his injury, but we haven’t seen enough of him to know what we have in him. Michael Woods and Jamari Thrash are more rotational/depth level options. Add Brandon Aiyuk, and suddenly I feel great about this room. Jeudy and Aiyuk are a great 1-2 punch, I feel good about Tillman being a WR3, and Michael Woods and Jamari Thrash as WR 4 and 5.

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