Raiders rumors: Could Brandon Aiyuk land with the Silver and Black?

With the Las Vegas Raiders season long over and the head coach and general manager roles filled, no one expected them to be a storyline following a Super Bowl matchup featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. 

However, following the Chiefs' win in overtime, the Raiders were mentioned by an unlikely member of the 49ers fanbase when Brandon Aiyuk’s brother posted this on this Instagram story. 

“This is the exact reason why we leaving San Francisco,” he said followed by “BA to Vegas”. This seemingly random outburst was caused by the lack of catches received by the former first-rounder as he had just three in the biggest game of the season.

Of course, there has been nothing from Aiyuk himself to lend credence to this claim. Still, it should be noted that Aiyuk was a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the time Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was on their staff. Hence, they likely have a relationship together. 

Following a season where he just recorded a career-high 1,342 receiving yards to go with seven touchdowns and 75 receptions, acquiring Aiyuk’s talents will not be cheap. Regardless, is this a move that the Raiders should make?

Should the Raiders target Aiyuk in free agency?

As mentioned, Brandon Aiyuk is fresh off a career year where he and the 49ers came up just short of winning a Super Bowl against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. 

If the 49ers were to move Aiyuk in a trade, it would be due to the financial limitations being placed on the team via the salary cap as they are already paying players such as Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Trent Williams big money. 

While his family may want to see him playing in the Silver and Black, Aiyuk would no doubt have a robust market across the NFL as teams try to acquire one of the league's best and most underrated receivers. 

Likely to cost a first-round pick, it would be a steep price for the Raiders to pay, especially at a position where they have already invested mass amounts of money and draft capital in players such as Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Renfrow, and Tre Tucker. 

Certainly, the idea of the Raiders acquiring Aiyuk and pairing him with Adams and former coach Antonio Pierce is an exciting one but likely an unrealistic scenario considering Las Vegas is currently searching for a franchise quarterback first and foremost.