Patriots are suddenly in a perfect spot to pursue a star receiver after wild turn of events, and it gives Drake Maye a reason to smile
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has likely played his last down for the San Francisco 49ers.
The New England Patriots will have an insane amount of cap space next offseason. Right now, Over the Cap projects them to have almost $50 million to spend, and that’s before adding the rollover from this season. That means executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and head coach Mike Vrabel will have a lot of flexibility to add new pieces to the roster in 2026.
And a recent update around the league may create the perfect target for the Pats: Brandon Aiyuk may become available soon.
Brandon Aiyuk is an ideal option for the Patriots
The San Francisco 49ers placed wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on the reserve/left squad list on Saturday. Now, he’s officially out for the rest of the season. And because the 49ers voided his guarantees earlier this year, it’s getting more and more likely that the team will part ways with the wide receiver as soon as its season is over.
Seldom a talented young receiver gets available, and Brandon Aiyuk could be the perfect addition to make Drake Maye’s life easier in 2026 and beyond.
Two options to make it work
The Patriots would have two alternative paths to land Brandon Aiyuk next season — just to be clear, this is not an option for 2025 anymore. The first and more likely happens if the 49ers release Aiyuk, which seems like a realistic scenario now. San Francisco may be forced to do so, because teams just don’t give up draft compensation when they know the original team won’t keep the player. That would create for the Pats the opportunity to structure a deal and sign him right away — and they’re not afraid to sign players coming off big injuries, especially after Stefon Diggs’ experience is working.
The second option is if the Patriots don’t want to risk losing Aiyuk in a potential free agent tour. In this case, the Pats could send the 49ers a late-round draft pick to acquire Aiyuk in a trade. But that move would depend on the player agreeing to adjust his deal, because he’s slated to make $27 million in 2026, $28.124 million in 2027, and $30 million in 2028.
Those numbers are not absurd based on Aiyuk’s production in 2022 and 2023, but after two years affected by a serious knee injury, it’s reasonable to expect a team-friendlier contract.
Free agency always tends to be dangerous, and overspending to sign average players rarely generates positive results. Making a big move to acquire a soon-to-be 28-year-old wide receiver with star potential is a smart way to allocate those resources, and the Patriots are in the perfect position to pull the trigger.
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