BREAKING NEWS: The head coach of the San Francisco 49ers has terminated his employment with the team today……..Read More..

The New England Patriots certainly need some help at wide receiver and the San Francisco 49ers may end up moving one of the best soon.

San Francisco has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons lately as the future of star receiver Brandon Aiyuk very much is in question. Aiyuk has developed into one of the top receivers in football as a member of the 49ers but he is looking for a new contract and the two sides seemingly aren’t on the same page right now.

It seemed like they were moving toward a deal, but talks “stalled” lately and now it seems like a trade is a possibility. CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin put together a list of the top landing spots and had the Patriots on his list.

“Aiyuk may not be itching to hop aboard a rebuilding team after enjoying four years of playoff contention in the Bay Area,” Benjamin said. “New England has money to spare, however, boasting $45 million in cap space under new coach Jerod Mayo, plus a flashy quarterback of the future in Drake Maye. Desperately lacking a bona fide No. 1, the Pats might be best positioned to outbid competition.”

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has repeatedly downplayed the possibility of trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, despite the All-Pro skipping mandatory minicamp while seeking a new contract. And yet Aiyuk, who is technically signed through 2024, continues to stoke the flames of a potential split, recently telling former college teammate Jayden Daniels “they don’t want me back.”

Lynch has said publicly the 49ers want to sign Aiyuk to a long-term deal, but San Francisco has so far been unwilling to meet the wideout’s contract demands, per ESPN. The 49ers just spent a first-round draft pick at the position, adding Florida’s Ricky Pearsall to a group also featuring Pro Bowler Deebo Samuel, who’s due more than $24 million in each of the next two seasons. Negotiations with Aiyuk are “not completely dead,” per NFL Media, but the Niners want the wideout “at their price.”

Aiyuk, meanwhile, could be seeking at least that much annually on a new deal, with six different wideouts securing extensions averaging more than $24 million per year this offseason. If the 49ers don’t budge and decide instead to auction Aiyuk via trade, which clubs could emerge as logical destinations?