Pros and cons of the Commanders' trading for WR Brandon Aiyuk
By Seth Jones
Brandon Aiyuk officially requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. It seemed like that’s where it was headed, as the wide receiver voiced out his disdain for how the franchise is treating his contract negotiations on countless occasions.
Aiyuk had his best season in 2023, finishing with 75 receptions for 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He was one of the key pieces in the Niners making it to the Super Bowl. He’s a crisp route runner who seems to always be open, making life easy for his quarterback.
The former first-round pick wants to be paid in keeping with the top wideouts around the league. This is the biggest part of Aiyuk’s problems with the contract talks. He knows his worth and won't budge, especially given the wideout market's recent explosion.
This leads to the two teams Aiyuk has voiced his desire to play for. The first team is the Pittsburgh Steelers as he seems to have a good connection with head coach Mike Tomlin. The other team is the Washington Commanders.
Aiyuk wants to play with his close friend and former teammate at Arizona State, quarterback Jayden Daniels. He expressed this in multiple ways. Whether that be hanging out with the signal-caller this offseason, stating as much during an appearance on The Pivot, or even posting a picture of Commanders' training camp film on social media.
His future is in San Francisco until further notice. They have all the leverage, but let's look at the pros and cons of the Commanders trading for Aiyuk if he does become available.
Pros and cons of the Commanders' trading for Brandon Aiyuk
Pros
The most obvious pro of trading for Aiyuk is his talent. Having another top-15 wide receiver opposite Terry McLaurin - who is arguably top-10 in his own right - would be a huge boost for this young Commanders' offense. It would instantly make this duo among the best-receiving tandems anywhere in the league.
Aiyuk’s connection and desire to play with Daniels is another big pro. It could help the promising signal-caller develop much faster and get put on a fast track to becoming the Commanders’ true franchise quarterback. At the very least, it would make life a lot easier during his important transition to the NFL.
New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is more of an air raid-style coach, which would fit bringing Aiyuk in. Having two prolific wide receivers allows more creativity in his play calling and makes sure there is always someone he trusts to scheme open.
Cons
Even though there is a bright side to trading for Aiyuk, one could argue there is an even larger dark side to it.
The price tag on Aiyuk is the biggest con against trading for him. No one knows the true price that the Niners are looking for. Based on historical data, we can infer what it would take to get the pass-catcher.
Due to being in the final year of his contract and seeking a large extension, it will likely cost something like a 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver Dyami Brown, or at least something along the lines of that value.
The trade value itself isn’t bad at all. It’s worth the cost for a player of Aiyuk's quality. The worst part is having to extend him after giving up a good amount of assets.
When you look at it all together, the Commanders are giving up a second-round pick, Brown, and $30 million a year. That’s just not worth it for the state Washington is in at this stage of the team's rebuild under new general manager Adam Peters.
Trading for Aiyuk doesn’t fit the Commanders' current timeline. Eating away at that much of our cap space for one wide receiver will make it a lot harder to extend key pieces down the line. The move could make sense for a win-now outfit, but that’s not what the Commanders are.
It would also make a lot more sense to trade for Aiyuk if the Commanders didn’t already have a star wide receiver, but that is not the case. McLaurin is not only on the roster, but he is $24.1 million against the cap in 2024. Putting more than $50 million on two wideouts in the early stages of this exciting project isn’t smart.
Star wide receivers that demand trades due to contracts or involvement in the offense tend to be divas, and in several cases end up being problems down the line. That might not be the case with Aiyuk, but it's something else Peters must take into consideration.