The Cleveland Browns have a glaring roster gap in the wide receivers room heading into the offseason and a couple different legitimate ways to fill it.
Cleveland will pick at No. 6 in the upcoming NFL draft. Carnell Tate of Ohio State and Jordyn Tyson of Arizona State have emerged as the top two wideouts in the class, and at least one is likely to fall to the Browns.
However, Ben Solak of ESPN predicted on Wednesday, January 7 that Cleveland will travel the free-agency route and scoop up San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk come the new league year.
“The Browns will bring in 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, as they continue their tradition of signing receivers on low-cost contracts in the hopes of hitting it big,” Solak wrote. “Aiyuk’s days in San Francisco are likely over; the Browns can offer him more money and opportunity compared to any other team in the NFL.”
Brandon Aiyuk Hasn’t Played in NFL Game Since October 2024
GettySan Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk is playing on a four-year extension worth $120 million signed in August 2024, except that he didn’t actually play at all this season.
He tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7 of the 2024 campaign and missed the remainder of the year. Most analysts believed a mid-season return in 2025 was the likeliest outcome, though Aiyuk never came back from injury and stopped reporting to the team facility weeks ago.
The 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guaranteed money in 2026, tallying $27 million, and Aiyuk’s decision not to challenge that move paves a path to free agency for the 27-year-old wideout come March.
Aiyuk has proven himself a more than capable WR1 when healthy. He went over 1,000 yards receiving in 2022 and 2023, catching a combined 153 passes and 15 TDs. He also earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2023, the last time he played close to a full season (16 games).
Brandon Aiyuk Offers Browns Strong WR1 Hedge for Shedeur Sanders, Rookie QB From 2026 NFL Draft
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
The questions surrounding Aiyuk are significant. How healthy is he? How will he bounce back in early September after more than 22 months since his last regular season game? Can he be trusted to remain happy on a long-term contract given how his situation in San Francisco played out?
Spotrac projects Aiyuk’s market value at just under $14 million on a one-year contract specifically because all of these questions exist, bringing down his market value.
The Browns have real questions at quarterback, but it appears likely that Shedeur Sanders will head into training camp next year with at least a chance of competing for the QB1 job from the jump. He went 3-4 down the stretch as the team’s starter this season.
Aiyuk, or a player like him, is essentially a requirement for Cleveland to truly gauge what it has in Sanders, as is an offseason where he isn’t buried on the depth chart and devoid of an opportunity to grow and develop in what will be a new system following the franchise’s dismissal of former head coach Kevin Stefanski after six years.
Going the free-agent route and paying Aiyuk nicely, but well below market value for a true WR1 across the league, is a decent hedge for the Browns. It would also keep open the opportunity to package the No. 6 pick, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ first-round selection, in an attempt to move up for either QB Fernando Mendoza of Indiana or quarterback Dante Moore of Oregon.
That option will cease to exist if the Browns draft a player like Tate or Tyson inside the top 10.
Browns Expected to Acquire $120 Million WR at Value to Pair With Shedeur Sanders