Polarizing trade proposal has Chargers sending Pro Bowler to 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers after months of failed contract negotiations. The 49ers do not have to trade Aiyuk and could simply let him play out the last year of his deal before hitting free agency. But if the team is interested in trading the Pro Bowl wide receiver then the LA Chargers should be considered a dark-horse potential candidate.

The Chargers have the need at wide receiver and the future cap flexibility to sign Aiyuk to a new deal. If the Chargers want to be aggressive and accelerate this rebuild under Jim Harbaugh then the team may consider a big trade for a notable player such as Aiyuk.

If the 49ers do cave and trade Aiyuk before the season then the team may ask for established players over draft picks. David Lombardi and the staff at The Athletic recently pondered this reality and came up with a trade package that is sure to take Chargers fans by surprise: Joey Bosa and a fourth-round pick for Aiyuk.

"Bosa, coming off an injury-riddled season, would join his brother Nick in San Francisco. Bosa reworked his contract and took a pay cut in March to remain with the Chargers. He has said he wants to retire with the organization. In that sense, offering him in a trade at this point would be a rather cold move on a human level.

Additionally, the Chargers are relying on the strength of their edge rusher group — Bosa, Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree — to elevate a defensive unit otherwise in transition talent-wise. Still, it is an interesting scenario to consider. Bosa is in the final guaranteed year of his deal, and this trade would provide a pretty considerable return before another contract decision is due on Bosa when he is set to count for $36.4 million on the 2025 cap. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer"

Chargers are unlikely to trade Joey Bosa to 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk

It is not hard to see how this could be a trade both parties agree to. The San Francisco 49ers would replace an impact receiver with an impact defensive player who would only strengthen the team's talented pass rush.

Add in the human element story of Bosa playing with his brother for the first time in the NFL and this is not a hard trade to sell to 49ers fans.

On the flip side, the Chargers are deep at edge rusher and could theoretically afford to replace Bosa if it means swapping him for an impact receiver. After all, Bosa has been hurt a lot in the last two years and the team has learned to live without him.

All that being said, the first part of the analysis above from Popper is the reason why this won't happen. It would be rather unprecedented for a star player to take a pay cut and help his team get out of salary cap disarray only for said team to turn around and trade him.

Plus, there are no indications the Chargers would prioritize wide receiver help over Bosa. If that was the case then the team probably would have cut/traded Bosa in March and kept Keenan Allen on the team.

Sure, Aiyuk is younger than Allen and is entering his prime while Allen is exiting it but the Chargers still had the chance already to part ways with Bosa and keep a Pro Bowl receiver in the picture. General manager Joe Hortiz punted on that idea and there is a good chance he will punt on any Aiyuk trades that involve Bosa.

The 49ers may prod for Bosa if trade talks ever happen between the two sides but the Chargers are unlikely to give him up. Instead, if a trade were to happen, it is much more likely the Bolts would send premier draft capital in place of Bosa.

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