49ers GM John Lynch makes firm statement on WR trade rumors

“During the course of drafts and offseasons, do conversations happen? Absolutely they do,” Lynch said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News). “We’re past that now. We’re thrilled to add to that group (of) Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Chris Conley, Ronnie Bell, Danny Gray and now you add Ricky Pearsall, Jake Cowing. We made an already strong group even stronger.”

San Francisco looked for a pick in the middle of the first round in any potential Aiyuk trade, but no offers of that caliber came in. The team ultimately stayed in place by keeping him and retaining the No. 31 overall pick, but using it on Pearsall raised eyebrows. Aiyuk has been tied to trade rumors based on his contract status, whereas moving Samuel could help make an Aiyuk extension (along with one for quarterback Brock Purdy down the road) more feasible.

For that reason, Samuel has also drawn trade interest recently. However, Lynch confirmed that after the draft’s first round had concluded, San Francisco did not give consideration to a trade involving Day 2 or 3 capital. That leaves Aiyuk, Samuel and Jennings (who is also entering a contract year) in place as the team attempts to keep as many skill-position contributors in the fold as possible. Aiyuk is set to play out his fifth-year option, valued at $14.12M, in 2024; a long-term deal will check in at a much larger price regardless of which team it comes from.

Aiyuk and the 49ers are not believed to be close on extension talks, and the 26-year-old has publicly made his frustrations known. Samuel is on the books for two more years, meanwhile, but his $16.6M 2025 base salary is not guaranteed. Especially with Pearsall now in the picture, future movement at the WR spot will no doubt be a source of questions and speculation for San Francisco. For now, though, the Aiyuk-Samuel-Jennings trio is set to remain intact.