The Green Bay Packers is on the wide receiver market, and it’s for real. On Friday, it was reported that general manager Brian Gutekunst have had talks with Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider about DK Metcalf, and a strong offer could be made soon, including a young receiver (possibly Romeo Doubs or Dontayvion Wicks) and a high draft pick.
But what if the same offer can buy them an even better and younger wide receiver? Well, Brandon Aiyuk might be on the table after the message the San Francisco 49ers sent at the NFL Combine.
This is what NFL Network’s insider Ian Rapoport shared on Saturday:
From our Combine coverage: A breakdown of some big-name WRs who could be traded, looking at Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, and maybe even Brandon Aiyuk. pic.twitter.com/axg5HfChCR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2025
“(49ers GM John Lynch) was asked about some rumors that teams have called or he’s had conversations surrounding potentially trading Brandon Aiyuk, who’s injured and tore his ACL, may not be ready, we’ll see, for the start of training camp or maybe the start of the season. Lynch said those conversations are productive, he said they do want to get younger. Obviously there’s a lot of cash to go around this offseason, likely paying Brock Purdy. Just I would say it’s a situation to keep an eye on for San Fran.”
During the week, John Lynch confirmed that the 49ers are open to trading Deebo Samuel. It’s more complicated to think they would also be willing to trade Aiyuk, who received a four-year extension last offseason. But here we are.
“You get calls and you always listen to calls. Since Kyle (Shanahan) and I have been here, we’ve been the No. 2 cash-spending team. In the last four years, we’re the fourth-highest cash-spending team. So at some point, you have to reset a little bit, or at least recalibrate. You can’t just keep pressing the pedal,” Lynch said. “I think there’s some good that can come out of that. We need to get younger. I think we’re the oldest team in football after trying to make a run last year. I think it’s good to constantly get younger.”
DK Metcalf is a great fit with Jordan Love because of his deep speed and efficiency, and health is obviously a factor as well. Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL back in October. However, the Packers usually get players back after 10 months, so there would be a good chance of Aiyuk being ready to start the regular season.
Aiyuk is four months younger than Metcalf and has a higher ceiling. Even though Metcalf hasn’t had a season with fewer than 900 receiving yards, Aiyuk is more well-rounded and had 1,342 receiving yards in 2023.
Another factor is the contract. With Metcalf, the Packers would have to build an extension in addition to the trade. Aiyuk, on the other hand, is under contract through 2028. He is slated to make $24.875 million in 2025, $27 million in 2026, $28.124 million in 2027, and $30 million in 2028.
Wait and see
It’s still hard to believe that the 49ers would be truly open to trading Brandon Aiyuk a year after giving him the big deal, especially because Deebo Samuel requested a trade and will be moved too.
That would leave the 49ers with Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings as their main wide receivers—which may be a risky proposition for a team that will pay Brock Purdy top of the market quarterback money.
And even though San Francisco would save a lot of cash, they would actually lose $7.65 million in cap space. The deal was well-structured, as the 49ers don’t give players big signing bonuses and make the contracts tradable, but it’s still a hard pill to swallow.
If the Packers are able to pull the trigger, though, it’s hard to see anything bad out of it beyond the knee injury.