Todd McShay: 'I've Heard Rumors' About Brandon Aiyuk Trade to Patriots from 49ers

One year after being unable to land Brandon Aiyuk in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots could be trying to add the 26-year-old wide receiver again this offseason.

On the latest episode of The Todd McShay Show (starts at 46:30 mark), Todd McShay said "I've heard rumors" about the Patriots trying to land Aiyuk.

When Aiyuk and the 49ers were going through their contract drama last offseason, the veteran wideout nixed a deal to New England by turning down an offer of $32 million per season because he didn't believe their quarterback situation was at the level he wanted at that point.

Things look a lot different at quarterback for the Patriots now after Drake Maye had a promising rookie season with 2,276 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and a 66.6 completion percentage. When you account for the lack of offensive talent around him, those numbers look even more impressive.

Aiyuk eventually resolved his contract standoff with the 49ers by signing a four-year, $120 million extension in August.

The Patriots are in something of a desperate spot because they have, by far, the most cap space in the NFL this offseason with $127.4 million available. Unfortunately, two players they could have had interest in, Tee Higgins and Trey Smith, aren't available as free agents because they both received the franchise tag.

There's still opportunities for the Patriots to make a big splash, but it will most likely have to come via trade.

San Francisco's approach so far this offseason seems designed to clear the team's long-term cap commitments. This could be related to the Brock Purdy extension that all of the key decision-makers say they want to get done this offseason.

The Niners opted to take a $31 million dead-cap charge in 2025 by trading Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick. If they had released him with a post-June 1 designation, they could have spread that amount out over the next two seasons.

Trading Aiyuk less than one year after giving him that extension would be a strange bit of business for the 49ers, but not totally out of keeping with how they operate. They've gone through extended contract negotiations with several star players over the years, including Aiyuk, Samuel, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and George Kittle.

The 49ers have also invested other resources in their receiver room. Ricky Pearsall was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft. Jauan Jennings, who had a career year with 975 yards and six touchdowns last season, signed a two-year, $15.4 million extension in May 2024.

Aiyuk would only count $7.6 million against San Francisco's cap in 2025 if he's traded before June 1. A post-June 1 trade would actually save the team $6.1 million against the cap.

One of the big questions for both the Patriots and 49ers is determining Aiyuk's value. At this time last year, he was coming off the best season of his career and a second-team All-Pro selection.

Now, though, there's an expectation Aiyuk might not even be ready for the start of the 2025 season after tearing his ACL and MCL in a Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Prior to the injury, Aiyuk wasn't having a particularly strong season that may have been impacted by his prolonged contract holdout. He finished 2024 with 374 yards and no touchdowns on 25 receptions in seven games.

Aiyuk posted back-to-back seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2022 and 2023.