Brandon Aiyuk To the Browns Would Be A High-Risk Proposition
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk requested a trade from San Francisco back on July 16, and it’s looking more and more likely the Niners will grant it. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who many believed were the runaway favorites to land the star pass-catcher, seemingly (Maybe? Maybe not?) fell out of Aiyuk sweepstakes while two other teams stepped up. One of those teams is the New England Patriots and the other? The Cleveland Browns.
According to report from Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports, and backed up by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the two squads have ramped up trade talks with San Francisco. Each team has a deal worked out and is contingent on Aiyuk coming to terms with one of the teams for an extension. “The ball is apparently in Aiyuk’s court,” said Cabot.
ICYMI: #Browns and #Patriots have worked out the framework of trade compensation with the #49ers for WR Brandon Aiyuk, @MaioccoNBCS reports. The ball is apparently in Aiyuk's court if he wants to accept the extension offer from one of the teams: https://t.co/zb6hOSSH6y
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 6, 2024
What the 49ers would want in return for Aiyuk is obvious: a receiver they believe can match or exceed his talents. The Browns won’t trade Jerry Jeudy, as they just traded for and extended him. Elijah Moore is nowhere near Aiyuk’s level, which leaves the one and only Amari Cooper as a viable option. Is it worth making the jump here?
In the long run, this is a trade the Browns should take, but it happened at the wrong time. Cleveland is in a Super Bowl window now, and the team has already added a bunch of key pieces over the past two years without having to sacrifice their own talent (Deshaun Watson trade aside). Aiyuk, 26, is a long-term upgrade over the 30-year-old Cooper, but getting rid of the veteran receiver may not.
Cooper has the experience, he is going into his tenth season and has been extremely consistent on every team he has joined. Going into his 3rd year with the Browns, Cooper has the chance to put up a third-straight 1,000-yard season (something no Browns WR has done before). He’s shown chemistry with Watson, and that is no insignificant factor as the quarterback hopes to return to form.
Cooper is also a stoic, steady presence for this offense. In any interview where Browns players discuss the former veteran wideout, a constant talking point is their high regard for his elite level of play and attitude toward the game. That leadership matters, and it has to be as much of a consideration as his talent.
As for Aiyuk, it’s hard to say that he could step into Cooper’s role as one of the team’s leaders. There’s a reason he’s leaving the Niners, after all. Not every player has to be a leader, but Jeudy is 25 years old, and Moore and Cedric Tillman are 24. Who sets the tone for the wideout position without Cooper? The void could easily throw a wrench in the potentially fragile machine that is the 2024 Browns offense.
Fit is every much a consideration as talent. The Browns should have learned that with Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham came to Cleveland in his age-27 season and was as talented as any receiver could be, with insane production in five years with the New York Giants. The fit looked great for a year, with Beckham posting a 1,000-yard season in 2019. But Beckham started becoming an issue, and he lasted a season and a half longer with Cleveland.
Enter Cooper, and suddenly, the position stabilized around him.
Part of the reason for that is that Cooper is, at least right now, every bit as talented as Aiyuk. Put the two receivers’ stats in the past two years, and it’s hard to say definitively that Aiyuk is better than Cooper, at least heading into 2024.
Amari Cooper, 2022-23:
32 games
150 receptions
2410 yards
14 TDs
16.1 yards per catch
Brandon Aiyuk, 2022-23:
33 games
153 receptions
2357 yards
15 TDs
15.4 yards per catch
The statistical difference is negligible, barring a decline season from Cooper, but the benefit for Cleveland would be beyond this season. The Browns likely won’t extend Cooper — if they wanted to do that, they could have done so instead of restructuring his 2024 contract — but Aiyuk’s youth would make him a much more attractive investment.
Is that an investment Cleveland really wants to take, though? Aiyuk is going to command top dollar in a league that’s starting to give top wideouts $30-plus million. The Browns are already paying Jeudy $17.5 million per season, and of course, are paying Watson a salary of $63 million for the next two seasons. Adding Aiyuk’s big contract is going to be a much more taxing investment in their passing game.
You can easily argue Aiyuk is worth it, and the Browns circling around Aiyuk in the rumor mill hints that they’re more than interested. But there’s a difference between what they are interested in and what they should be interested in, and swapping Cooper for Aiyuk feels like a big risk, despite the potential reward.
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