Brandon Aiyuk, the starting wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, is still chuckling about the silly NFL trade rumors that popped up during the 2024 season.
On his YouTube channel earlier this week, Aiyuk made a comment poking fun at the trade talks that suggested the 49ers wanted to move him while he was just starting to recover from ACL and MCL tears he suffered in Week 7.
“They were talking about trading me when I was off Percocets and muscle relaxers, peeing in a cup by my bed!” Aiyuk joked on June 23. “I couldn’t walk for 10 weeks; nobody’s trading for me 🤣💀.”
The idea of trading Aiyuk seems completely ridiculous—even now. He recently signed a four-year contract extension worth $120 million with the 49ers last August after achieving a career-best of 1,342 receiving yards in the 2023 season. The team also traded away veteran wide receiver Deebo Samuel this offseason, making Aiyuk almost essential to their offense.
Even if the team has some doubts about how well he will recover from his injury, the 49ers perform better on offense with Aiyuk on the field alongside quarterback Brock Purdy. They have plenty of reasons to support his successful comeback as they head into the 2025 season.
Brandon Aiyuk Has a Lot to Prove After His Knee Injury
Aiyuk can easily laugh off the rumors about him being traded, but he should remember how crucial the 2025 season could be for his future with the 49ers.
No one would fault the 49ers for feeling some regret about Aiyuk during the first half of the 2024 regular season. They invested $30 million each year for him to be their main passing target, but he didn’t deliver that kind of performance in the seven games he played before hurting his knee against Kansas City in Week 7.
In those seven games, Aiyuk had fewer than 50 yards in all but one game, where he had an impressive eight catches for 147 yards against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5. In four of those games, he only caught two passes even though he was targeted at least four times each time.
This level of production isn’t what you expect from a $30 million receiver and certainly raises worries about him going into 2025, especially after dealing with a season-ending right knee injury.
Luckily for Aiyuk, there were many reasons why the 49ers lost four out of their first seven games in 2024. However, if he starts slowly again in 2025, the 27-year-old will still face criticism.
