49ers Rumors: Brandon Aiyuk a 'Trade Candidate' If Unable to Agree to New Contract

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is "a trade candidate" if the San Francisco 49ers cannot finalize an extension this offseason, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.

Aiyuk is currently set to play in 2024 on a $14.1 million player option before hitting free agency next offseason.

The wide receiver, who turns 26 in mid-March, recorded a career-high 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 16 regular-season games this past season. He added 149 yards and one touchdown in three games on the 49ers' way to the Super Bowl.

Niners general manager John Lynch spoke highly of Aiyuk when speaking to reporters Tuesday, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.

"Brandon's one that we think incredibly highly of, one of my favorite guys around our building, the way he approaches the game," Lynch said. "He's a competitor. He's a warrior. He plays with such physicality, also with grace, in the way some of the positions his body can get into. And then he's got a flair for making plays when [they] matter most, and he's served us very well as a franchise."

Lynch continued: "I think we've got a nice track record of extending the players that are important to us, and Brandon's the guy we want to keep around for a long time."

The 49ers have been unable to reach compromise on extensions for highly regarded players in the past. Just look back at the last time the Niners lost a title to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In December 2018, Lynch said that defensive tackle DeForest Buckner was "someone we want to be a Niner for a long time." The Niners traded him a year later.

At the time of that trade, Buckner was in a similar position to Aiyuk. He was a core player headed into a fifth-year option salary of $14.36 million, but the two sides couldn't come to terms on an extension.

If there's one lesson learned from the Buckner trade, it's that no matter how well Aiyuk played in 2023, the likelihood of him remaining in San Francisco in 2024 could all come down to how extension negotiations go this offseason.