Patriots' offer for Brandon Aiyuk revealed after latest trade rumors

As the Patriots are set to have veterans back in Foxboro for the start of training camp, the Brandon Aiyuk rumors continue to flood the news cycle in New England. The team has been connected to the disgruntled wide receiver all offseason, with the latest report from Josina Anderson revealing Eliot Wolf had been in contact with the 49ers just a few weeks ago about a trade.

Because contract negotiations remain at a standstill in San Francisco, Aiyuk formally requested a trade again last week. Although the Niners insist they're not interested in trading their star wide receiver, their efforts to retain him beyond the 2024 season don't appear to be working.

That puts the Patriots back at the forefront of possible teams to convince the 49ers to trade them before the start of the regular season. The new regime made it clear early on that they wanted to "weaponize the offense," and they attempted to do that in the draft.

They selected offensive players with seven of their eight picks, double dipping at offensive line and wide receiver. But that's apparently not where their efforts began or stopped.

The Patriots were willing to pay up to acquire Brandon Aiyuk during the 2024 NFL Draft

The latest report from Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reveals the Patriots' offer to the 49ers during the draft earlier this year.

Florio states that Wolf offered a 2024 second-round pick for Aiyuk and was willing to pay him what he wanted, which was around $28 million at the time. That has since changed, but that's a massive development in the Patriots' efforts to put their offense over the top for the season ahead.

"At the time, the magic number was in the neighborhood of $28 million per year. That quite possibly has changed, given the market-shifting deal given by the Vikings to receiver Justin Jefferson.

Regardless, there were five teams, we’re told, who were ready to pay Aiyuk what he wanted before the draft. If they could also reach acceptable trade terms with the 49ers, he would have been traded.

That part didn’t happen. It’s unclear what the 49ers wanted at the time. They rejected an offer of a second-round pick from the Patriots. Other interested teams were, and potentially still are, the Steelers and Commanders."

Since many fans and reporters have given up on the Patriots acquiring a game-changing WR1 before the season begins, this report proves that although their efforts have gone unnoticed until now, they have been active in trying to accomplish that goal.

It could also mean they are still in on Aiyuk despite the 49ers' alleged continued refusal to even entertain any offers. It seems inevitable that this won't end well for the team, as they have had a lot of time to try and accommodate Aiyuk with an extension, and that is good news for the Patriots if they are seriously in on trading for him.

However, if a deal doesn't get done this year, whether due to San Francisco's lack of interest in moving on from Aiyuk or the Patriots losing out in a trade, Wolf's work to get a top-tier receiver should be noted.

It shows his determination to weaponize the offense in the way he so famously said, and that could really work to their benefit next offseason when they are even more loaded in cap space.

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