NFL Rumors: 49ers 'Unlikely to Change' Brandon Aiyuk Trade Stance amid Contract Buzz

Brandon Aiyuk is on pace for the best season of his career, so it's not a surprise the San Francisco 49ers are going to do everything in their power to keep the 25-year-old wide receiver.

Per ESPN's Nick Wagoner, the 49ers' stance on trading Aiyuk is "unlikely to change" during the offseason.

There does seem to be a ticking clock on how much longer San Francisco can keep together this core group of skill players that includes Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle.

Samuel, Kittle and McCaffrey have already signed lucrative long-term deals. McCaffrey signed his in April 2020 with the Carolina Panthers. The 49ers also have Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Fred Warner, Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead on big money contracts.

General manager John Lynch seemed to be preparing for the offseason prior to the start of this season. They restructured deals for Williams, Kittle, Armstead to give them an NFL-high $41 million in cap space.

NFL rules allow teams to rule any unused cap space over to the following season. This will make it easier for the 49ers to retain all of their stars currently signed to deals, as well as possibly work out an extension with Aiyuk.

Wagoner reported in March that teams were calling the 49ers about a potential trade for Aiyuk, but San Francisco was intent on keeping him.

Aiyuk was eligible to sign an extension last offseason, but San Francisco's track record of players on rookie contracts is to wait until a player is going into the final year of their deal to do a deal. It happened with Samuel after the 2021 season and Bosa after last season.

The 49ers picked up Aiyuk's fifth-year option for 2024 in April. He will earn $14.1 million next season. The Arizona State alum has certainly increased his leverage in future negotiations with his performance so far in 2023.

Aiyuk ranks second in the NFL with 19.6 yards per reception and leads the 49ers with 881 receiving yards.

Since Brock Purdy took over as San Francisco's starting quarterback in Week 13 last season, Aiyuk has 1,244 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in his last 16 games.