The San Francisco 49ers brass fully understands 2024 may be the best chance to win a Super Bowl before next season comes when they have to pay Brock Purdy a major contract which will limit the amount of money that can be spent on talent around him.
Both of the 49ers starting wideouts have uncertain futures with the team. Deebo Samuel is nearing the end of a recent extension while Brandon Aiyuk – -who is coming off his best NFL season where he earned All-Pro honors in 2023 — has yet to suit up for training camp and trade rumors have only intensified as each day passes.
GM John Lynch has repeatedly said the team plans to have Aiyuk as a 49er for the entirety of his career, but an extension hasn’t been signed which will only fuel speculation in the meantime.
Many outsiders have believed the 49ers may have to trade away last season’s top receiver. Aiyuk has a fifth-year extension worth $14.12 million, but he could command $26.5 million annually per Spotrac.
With Justin Jefferson’s recent extension making the Vikings’ WR the highest paid non-QB in the NFL, it only complicates things further when looking at a new deal for Aiyuk.
It didn’t help the San Francisco 49ers cause when the Miami Dolphins gave wide receiver Jaylen Waddle a year-extension of $84.75 million. That put Waddle in the top five among receivers for pay, and that’s the level of pay Aiyuk seeks. He said as much in the spring when he visited “The Night Cap” podcast with former NFL stars Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe.
“I’m trying to get what I deserve,” Aiyuk told Johnson and Sharpe. “I feel like this season, this season playing football, I figured out who I was as a person and a player — what I bring to the table, what I bring to the locker room, what I bring to the organization.”
As of now, it feels like Aiyuk is closer to out the door than close to reaching a deal to stay in San Francisco, but until a move is made, he’s contractually bound to the 49ers for the 2024 season.
San Francisco 49ers Ink Deal With Veteran RB Matt Breida
A familiar face is returning to 49ers. San Francisco locked down dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey to a contract extension this offseason but the organization took an extra step to give him help in the backfield on Monday.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, free agent running back Matt Breida has agreed to a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, bringing him back to the team that he spent his first three NFL seasons with.
Breida spent the last two seasons with the New York Giants and had 151 rushing yards and a touchdown last year.
The Athletic’s David Lombardi noted that Breida had a tryout with the 49ers, which ultimately ended with him landing a contract.
Breida, who went undrafted out of Georgia Southern in 2017, had some of the best seasons of his seven-year career playing for the San Francisco 49ers. He rushed for 465 yards and two touchdowns his rookie year before recording a career-high 814 yards and three touchdowns in 2018. In his final year with the 49ers in 2019, he had 623 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The San Francisco 49ers traded Breida to the Miami Dolphins in 2020 and he spent a season there before joining the Buffalo Bills as a free agent in 2021. He joined the Giants on a one-year deal in 2022 and re-signed with New York ahead of the 2023 season.
San Francisco has a clear RB1 in Christian McCaffrey, but the RB2 spot is somewhat open heading into the season. The 49ers return their second and third-leading rushers in Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason, but those two combined for less than 500 yards last season, so Breida could step in and get plenty of touches.
