Brandon Aiyuk has officially requested a trade and as is often the case, the question will surface — should the Cleveland Browns make an offer?
Cleveland certainly hasn’t been shy about adding wide receivers. They traded for Amari Cooper in 2022, Elijah Moore in 2023, and Jerry Jeudy this year. So why wouldn’t they be interested in Brandon Aiyuk?
Would the Browns really trade for Brandon Aiyuk
Cleveland trading for Aiyuk has been floated and one possibile scenario was to send Amari Cooper to the 49ers in the deal. The thought process was simple, both teams could ship off a No. 1 wideout who wanted to get paid while adding someone capable of taking their place.
The problem is that it doesn't solve anything. The 49ers would go from having a young wideout wishing to get paid to an older wideout wishing to get paid. Cleveland would go from Cooper and a projected salary of $26 million to someone who can demand more than $30 million per season. They don't have the cap space to make this work - without kicking the can down the road for years - especially after extending Jerry Jeudy.
Cleveland also hasn't been willing to send premium picks for a wideout. Jeudy and Cooper were acquired with late-round picks. They sent the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the New York Jets in exchange for Elijah Moore, but also received the 74th overall selection in the deal.
Giving up at least one first-round pick and signing Aiyuk to a massive contract doesn't seem to be in the cards for this franchise.
