NFL Rumors: Why Patriots Pulled Out Of Brandon Aiyuk Trade With 49ers

The New England Patriots were briefly in the running for NFL star wideout Brandon Aiyuk, but the 24-hour-long roller coaster ride reached an abrupt ending.

New England submitted its bid for Aiyuk, even working out a framework agreement with the San Francisco 49ers, which left Aiyuk in the driver’s seat. Yet, less than 24 hours after the Patriots threw all its chips in hopes of acquiring the 26-year-old, the organization withdrew its interest in the Aiyuk sweepstakes entirely, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. New England seemingly went the distance with San Francisco, sitting toe-to-toe with the Cleveland Browns as the two expected teams with the most favorable chances of adding Aiyuk — a No. 1 caliber receiver.

Perhaps the most perplexing development from New England’s failed run at Aiyuk is the rumored reasoning behind the collapsed trade. Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team reported the Patriots had offered Aiyuk the most money (north of $30 million), however, Aiyuk expressed zero interest in going to New England. It became abundantly clear at the start of Aiyuk’s offseason saga that money stood above all else. The 49ers were fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, but even contention wasn’t enough to repair Aiyuk’s displeasure with the organization. Surprisingly, the Patriots, too, couldn’t buy Aiyuk’s interest.

Aiyuk becomes just the latest swing-and-miss attempt at New England delivering a franchise cornerstone-level talent. In March, the Patriots were in hot pursuit of then-free agent wideout Calvin Ridley, going as far as to offer a competitive contract that ultimately fell short to the Tennessee Titans — who landed Ridley on a four-year, $92 million deal. That’s two elite offensive weapons the franchise has failed to land, leaving the Patriots to roll with their current young core of wide receivers to pair with the trio of newly-added quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye and Joe Milton III.