Originally posted by NYniner85:
The ship sailed the moment they paid him
Originally posted by BP13:
This. It's rare for teams to take on a new contract not of their own drafting, and in this case a bad contract. Teams usually don't bail other teams out like this.
How many guys did the Pats try to acquire this offseason before settling on Diggs? AJ Brown. DK Metcalf. Chris Olave. They even called up the 49ers to inquire about an injured Aiyuk.
The Patriots and 49ers agreed on a 2nd, 4th, and Bourne for Aiyuk last offseason, contingent on Aiyuk agreeing to extend with the Patriots. The Patriots last offer was a 129.6M/4 extension (32.4M extension AAV). Add his fifth year option and it was a total contract of 143.724M/5 (28.745M total AAV). Aiyuk ended up taking less money to stay with SF, extending for 120M/4 to bring his total contract to 134.124M/5. The 49ers already paid out 24.125M in 2024. If Aiyuk were traded to the Patriots, his total contract with the Pats would be 95.875/4 (26.969M total AAV). It's still less money than what they offered him last year. Of that total contract, only 2 years and 51M in cash is guaranteed. If Aiyuk were not injured and the 49ers still had a mandate from ownership to cut spending, that 51M would be off the 49ers books by now.
The contract wasn't bad. Off-loading contracts for salary cap purposes is not as exotic as you imagine it is.