Getty Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers celebrating a play.
With Brandon Aiyuk extension eligible heading into his fourth professional season, one of the hottest questions among the San Francisco 49ers‘ fanbase has been how John Lynch and company should approach his contract moving forward.
Should the team offer him a long-term extension? Or should the team simply pick up Aiyuk’s fifth-year option and re-address the situation next spring? Could Aiyuk or his wide receiving running mate, Deebo Samuel, be on the move via trade, as paying two wide receivers near the top of the market may simply prove to be untenable in a salary cap-driven league?
Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle weighed in on this very topic with an appearance on the 49ers Webzone’s “No Huddle Podcast.”
“You would probably be able to make the case that you shouldn’t pay two receivers at that level if neither of them is a traditional one,” Silver said.
Could the 49ers opt against re-signing Aiyuk because he, like Samuel, doesn’t necessarily fill that A.J. Brown, Julio Jones-type of role as a traditional outside number-one receiver? Potentially so, as Silver detailed further in his “No Huddle” appearance.
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Mike Silver Explains the Niners’ Potential Tough Decision
Discussing what an outside wide receiver looks like in the modern-day NFL, Silver broke down how he views the position and how neither Aiyuk nor Samuel necessarily fit that role.
“A big, tall, exceptionally fast guy who could go on the outside and just destroy people in any offense,” Silver noted. “So if you think of it that way, you’d say, ‘Well, we’re only going to pay one.’ Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not Aiyuk because what you could do is get through this season, assuming Aiyuk is going to come in and put his head down and play. And then after the year, assess and say, ‘Hey, we want to pay him now, and we’ll eat the rest on Deebo and try to get what we can for him.’
“That seems crazy because so much of their identity, let alone that versatility, is tied up in Deebo. On the other hand, they haven’t been thrilled at times with the shape that he’s been in. He’s obviously experienced a lot of wear and tear. They’ve obviously had their clashes, most notably last offseason, and we’ll have to see how each guy performs this year, depending on who the quarterback is [and] how it goes.
“So I do think it’s possible that they could arrive at a point where they say, ‘We’re only going to pay one of those two.’ I’m not positive that it wouldn’t be Aiyuk, though, a year from now.”
Goodness, does Silver really believe that the 49ers could move off of Samuel’s contract in order to bring back a valuable draft selection and commit that cap money to Aiyuk instead? While the team has made that decision in the past, trading Deforrest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for the pick that would become Javon Kinlaw only to re-sign Arik Armstead to a five-year, $85 million contract extension, would history repeat itself in 2024?
Based on Lynch’s comments in 2022, it certainly sounds like he likes the 49ers view Samuel as a “foundational piece” moving forward.
The San Francisco 49ers View Deebo Samuel as a ‘Core Guy’
Upon re-signing Samuel to a new contract on August 1, 2022, Lynch delivered a statement as part of an official press release from the 49ers that spoke glowingly about his homegrown wide receiver.
“We are overjoyed to have come together with Deebo to keep him with the 49ers for years to come,” Lynch said in the 49ers’ press release. “Deebo has the rare ability to not only play at a unique level but to inspire his teammates with the way he plays. He is a special player that embodies “will meeting skill.” We’re proud to move forward with him as an integral leader and foundational piece of our team.”
With Trey Lance expected to start at quarterback for the 49ers in 2022, having a dynamic, do-it-all wide receiver like Samuel to ease his transition into the NFL was widely viewed as a positive by fans and media members like Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. While a lot can change in a hurry in the NFL, it’s worth wondering if Lynch’s opinion on Samuel being a “foundational piece” has changed at all after watching Aiyuk have a breakout season in 2022.