The LA Chargers are yet to take a big swing this offseason with many fans convinced it will never happen. At the very least, the Chargers are set up situationally to make a big trade if general manager Joe Hortiz finds a deal that makes sense for the team.
Analysts throughout the league certainly think the Chargers are on the precipice of making a big trade. Bleacher Report's Moe Moton recently broke down seven surprising NFL trades that could "still happen" and had the Chargers making the biggest trade of them all.
Morton has the Chargers taking a swing on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. In the proposed deal, the Chargers are trading the 86th overall pick to San Francisco for Aiyuk's services.
Aiyuk is someone who Chargers fans speculated about in the past before he reached a deal with the San Francisco 49ers last offseason. Past speculation should not lead to a trade, though, as Aiyuk would be far too big a risk for the Bolts.
Chargers would be silly to trade for 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk's name is once again in trade rumors with the Cleveland Browns reportedly taking a stab at the wideout. The Chargers should let the Browns bid against themselves in this process as trading a third-round pick for Aiyuk would not be worth it.
Aiyuk is coming off tearing both his ACL and MCL in Week 7 last season. That alone presents a massive risk for his future, let alone the fact that the jury is still out if he is a legitimate WR1 or not.
Aiyuk had a spectacular 2023 season in San Francisco's potent offense but his numbers dipped before getting hurt in 2024. It was a small sample size but Aiyuk had 23 catches for 351 yards and no touchdowns in the six games prior to getting hurt. That is an average of 3.8 catches for 58.5 yards per game.
Those numbers are inflated by one big performance, too. Aiyuk had less than 50 yards receiving in every game but one in 2024. He had fewer than five receptions in four of his six games before suffering the injury.
It's not fair to completely judge someone on a six-game sample size but there were already concerns about Aiyuk's ceiling prior to the 2024 season. That is the entire reason why the 49ers were so hesitant to sign Aiyuk is the perfect example of an overqualified WR2 who is getting WR1 money.
The 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract prior to last season. The one saving grace of his deal is that it is back-loaded and not guaranteed. Aiyuk's cap hit this season is just over $10 million, next year it's just over $16 million and the following year it balloons to $42.2 million. However, in that third year, Aiyuk's team can cut him with just a $9.2 million dead cap hit.
On paper, Aiyuk's contract is not as bad as it seems but it is still a pretty penny to pay for someone who might have already reached his ceiling and is coming off an injury that may limit him in 2025.