49ers Tried to Trade for Vikings WR Justin Jefferson this Offseason

This actually makes a ton of sense.

The Vikings just made Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, but earlier this offseason there were some doubts as to whether the deal would get done. So before the draft, teams called the Vikings and tried to trade for Jefferson, and one of those teams was the 49ers according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"Never ever got close," Schefter said. "Some teams reached out. The New York Jets reached out about Justin Jefferson. The Indianapolis Colts reached out about Justin Jefferson, you know that? The 49ers reached out about Justin Jefferson, you know that?"

Of course, the Vikings said no. But I can see why the 49ers inquired. They currently are struggling to negotiate an extremely lucrative contract extension with Brandon Aiyuk, who's not as good as Jefferson. And yet Aiyuk wants the 49ers to give him nearly as much money as the Vikings gave Jefferson. He will earn $35 million per season. Aiyuk likely wants no less than $30 million per season.

So if that's how much the 49ers have to pay for Aiyuk, why not call the Vikings and see if Jefferson is available? I could see the 49ers saying, "Hey, if Aiyuk thinks he's Justin Jefferson, why don't we just trade him for Justin Jefferson?"

And of course, the Vikings declined, because Aiyuk is no Jefferson.

This news just tells me how uneager the 49ers are to make Aiyuk one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. I still think they'll make him play out the fifth-year option in his contract.