The San Francisco 49ers are reaching a critical crossroads.
As it stands, they are coming off a season where they were one of the best teams in the NFL — and once again — they enter 2024 with one of the most talented rosters in the NFL.
The problem? The organization is going to have to pay Brock Purdy in the near future — and as we’ve seen with so many teams in the league it’s hard to retain top-tier talent within the salary cap once the franchise QB gets a major payday.
Both of the San Francisco 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 — is entering the final year of his deal and has held out of voluntary team activities so far.
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.
But the reality is 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.
It didn’t help the 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.”
San Francisco 49ers Land Minnesota Vikings Star WR Justin Jefferson In Blockbuster Trade Proposal
According to a recent trade proposal from USA Today, the 49ers could swing big for three-time All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
Similar to Aiyuk, Jefferson wants a bigger contract, and the Minnesota Vikings superstar wideout didn’t show up for the start of organized team activities. Andrew Hughes of USA Today’s Vikings Wire proposed a hypothetical trade package for the 49ers to acquire Jefferson and only lose veteran wideout Jauan Jennings in the process.
That means the San Francisco 49ers could have an elite trio of Jefferson, Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel for at least 2024. Hughes wrote that the 49ers could send 2025 first and second-round draft picks, a 2026 second-round pick, and Jennings to the Vikings for Jefferson.
While the 49ers just extended Jennings with a three-year, $15.39 million contract, San Francisco would save $3.43 million in cap space with a trade. Anything helps because Jefferson won’t come cheap amid his lofty contract demands.
Jefferson has a $19.74 million fifth-year extension with the Vikings this year, and he could command $32.5 million annually per Spotrac. San Francisco only has $7.23 million left in cap space, so it would take working around the salary cap — and likely roster cuts — to satisfy Jefferson’s contract wishes. Realistically, the 49ers would have the utmost difficulty making Hughes’ trade proposal come to fruition.
If the hypothetical trade idea did go through, Jefferson would land with a Super Bowl contender at age 24, and he would get to work with quarterback Brock Purdy before the 49ers have to pay big money for the starting signal caller. Jefferson would give Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers offense an elite receiving threat in short yardage and vertical passing.
