Insider predicts if 49ers will trade Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel

ESPN's Dan Graziano is among NFL insiders who believe that star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will ultimately play for the San Francisco 49ers this coming season.

"The Niners...seem to have a dialogue going with Aiyuk, and some of his recent public comments indicate that he has begun to make peace with the idea of playing for San Francisco on his current contract this season if no new deal materializes," Graziano explained for a piece published Thursday.

Ahead of the July 4 holiday, Aiyuk indicated he "for sure" could see himself playing for the 49ers in the final year of his rookie contract even though he wants to sign a lucrative extension before Week 1. 

He reportedly isn't close to either inking a deal with the Niners or officially requesting a trade, and whispers have suggested that San Francisco could look to keep Aiyuk on his current deal through this season, retain his rights for 2025 via the franchise tag and then shop him before next year's draft.

Meanwhile, fellow 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is signed through the 2025 campaign and, like Aiyuk, was linked with receiver-needy teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots this past spring. Graziano thinks San Francisco could elect to pay Aiyuk and then make Samuel available.

"Samuel's guaranteed money runs out after this season, so there's the strong chance the Niners instead move on from Samuel and find themselves able to pay Aiyuk in 2025," Graziano continued.

Logic still suggests the 49ers will want to hold onto all of their available weapons since they are coming off an overtime Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and may possess arguably the league's best overall roster. 

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Niners second behind only the Chiefs (+500) at +600 betting odds to win Super Bowl LIX.

Tight end George Kittle recently reminded everybody that the 49ers have a history of getting deals done with unsettled players as late as the week before a regular-season opener. In short, there's no reason San Francisco fans should panic about Aiyuk's short-term future at this stage of the process.