Trade talks involving San Francisco 49ers star wideout Brandon Aiyuk heated up this week and the New England Patriots were one of two teams named as most interested in the All-Pro receiver's talents. Then, late on Tuesday night, the Patriots were suddenly out of the running.
How did this happen? ESPN's Adam Schefter appeared on SportsCenter on Wednesday morning to break it down.
"New England had the parameters of a trade in place with San Francisco. That wasn’t the issue. But they weren’t getting a great vibe here as they tried to conduct communication with Brandon Aiyuk and his agent. And the longer it went on the worse they felt about it and eventually they said, 'What are we doing here? Let's just focus in on the young receivers that we have.' They feel like they’re excited about them."
"Rather than go ahead and give up a huge amount of compensation to the 49ers before going ahead to give up what would be a big contract to Brandon Aiyuk that he didn't seem overly receptive about getting, they said, 'we're just going to stand pat and stand down.'"
.@AdamSchefter added some context as to what occurred between the #Patriots, Brandon Aiyuk, and Aiyuk’s agent:
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) August 7, 2024
“New England, had the parameters of a trade in place with San Fransisco. That’s wasn’t the issue. But, they weren’t getting a great vibe here, as they tried to conduct… pic.twitter.com/HQNQjvjiJz
The Patriots made a lot of sense as a landing spot for Aiyuk because they are both desperate for a high-end receiver and have plenty of cash to give out. If the wideout was receptive, it's easy to envision New England giving up one or two quality players for the right to pay Aiyuk north of $30 million annually. The team can afford to do that and the company line from Aiyuk's camp is about paying him what he is worth. The Pats probably would have been willing to pay even more than that.
But going from San Francisco to New England is about more than a cross-country flight. It is a pretty significant downgrade in terms of competitiveness. The Niners are loading up for their third trip to the Super Bowl in the last five years. The Pats haven't won a playoff game in six years and are very obviously biding their time, rebuilding in hopes 2024 first-round pick Drake Maye is the future of the franchise.
From the sounds of it, Aiyuk would like to get paid and play for a team with playoff hopes. If all he cared about was his salary then he and his agent would have engaged more heavily with the Patriots camp. If all he cared about was winning then this whole situation wouldn't be happening because the 49ers have been and remain one of the top teams in the league.
Can Aiyuk have his cake and eat it, too? We'll all find out soon enough. But the Patriots seem to have been left behind and will have to pursue other routes to find the No. 1 wideout they've been missing since Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski graced Gillette Stadium.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Adam Schefter Details How Patriots, Brandon Aiyuk Trade Talks Fell Apart .
