Getty 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall drew a strong reaction from Brandon Aiyuk.
Lost in a week that was dominated by conversation about what would happen with the 49ers receiving crops as it has become increasingly clear that the team is struggling to get star Brandon Aiyuk’s signature on a new contract extension, combined with the implications the team using its first-round pick on Florida star Ricky Pearsall was the actual reaction that Aiyuk had to the front office’s decision to pick up Pearsall.
The presumption among many around the league was that the Pearsall pick indicated that a trade of either Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel was imminent. It was not. A week after the start of the draft, both of the 49ers star receivers are still with the team.
According to Kyle Shanahan, via ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Aiyuk was a big fan of the pick.
Schefter wrote on Twitter/X that Aiyuk texted Shanahan after the pick was official:
“49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk texted GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan moments after they selected his former Arizona State teammate Ricky Pearsall with their first-round pick Thursday night. The message, per Shanahan: ‘Fire Pick, can’t lie.’”
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk texted GM John Lynch and HC Kyle Shanahan moments after they selected his former Arizona State teammate Ricky Pearsall with their first-round pick Thursday night. The message, per Shanahan: “Fire Pick, can’t lie.”
Brandon Aiyuk Trade Contingent on Top Pick
Increasingly, it appears as though the 49ers will be able to hold together their current lineup for 2024, before things begin to unravel and either Aiyuk or Samuel must go.
According to ESPN, the 49ers would have been wiling to trade Aiyuk if they were able to land a pick that would guarantee them one of the Top 3 receivers in this NFL draft—Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. But Harrison went No. 4 to Arizona, Nabers went No. 6 to the Giants and Odunze was the No. 9 pick to the Bears, giving the 49ers no real chance to get into position to make a top receiver pick.
The most likely scenario now appears to be re-signing Aiyuk on a deal that lowers his cap number for 2024 and allows the 49ers enough flexibility to hold the roster together for a Super Bowl run this season. After that, the 49ers could either trade or cut Samuel, who is entering the second year of the contract extension he signed with the team in 2022.
The 49ers have an out on Samuel’s deal after this season, and could cut or trade him while swallowing a $15 million dead-cap hit, per Spotrac. That would save the 49ers $9 million next season, though.
49ers Wide Receiver Room Could Get Contentious
There is also the possibility that the 49ers keep Samuel and move Aiyuk, with Pearsall essentially being Aiyuk’s replacement.
The wider question, then, would be whether the 49ers can manage the personalities and potentially clashing egos in the receivers’ room. Aiyuk and Samuel are friends and have no past history of tension, but that was while Aiyuk was on his rookie deal. If Aiyuk comes in with a new mega-contract and trade rumors swirl around Samuel, will Samuel remain professional?
The hope is yes, obviously, but that is uncertain.
Also on the docket for the 49ers is how to work Pearsall into the mix as rookie, if at all. Oh, and the team still needs to work out a new contract for Jauan Jennings, who had 10 catches (one more than Aiyuk) for 111 yards and a touchdown in three playoff games last year. Jennings is currently on a one-year tender at $4.9 million.
It’s a lot to work out. A trade during the draft would have gotten the 49ers around the issue, but now it’s something they will have deal with.