Adam Schefter explains why the Patriots abandoned Brandon Aiyuk trade talks
FOXBORO -- For a good chunk of Tuesday, it looked like the Patriots had a real shot at landing star receiver Brandon Aiyuk via a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. But those hopes were dashed late Tuesday night when it was reported that the Patriots were ending their run at the 49ers wideout.
It wasn't because they couldn't work out a trade package with San Francisco or didn't offer Aiyuk a big enough contract extension. The Patriots met both of those qualifiers. They were ready to pay Aiyuk over $30 million a season, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.
But it really boiled down to the fact that Aiyuk didn't want to play in New England. And Aiyuk and his representation made that clear when they started talking contract with the Patriots, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"They weren't getting a great vibe here as they tried to conduct communication with Brandon Aiyuk and his agent," Schefter said on ESPN on Wednesday. "The longer it went on, the worse they felt about it and eventually they said, 'What are we doing here? Let's just focus in on the young receivers that we have.'
"They feel like they're excited about them, and rather than go ahead and give up a huge amount of compensation to the 49ers after -- or before -- going ahead to give up what would be a big contract to Brandon Aiyuk that he didn't seem overly receptive about getting," Schefter added. "They said we're going to stand pat and stand down."
The Patriots really wanted to bring Aiyuk in to give Jacoby Brissett (and eventually, Drake Maye) a top receiving option. He would have taken a ton of pressure off the quarterback and the other receivers on New England's roster this season, especially rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker and second-year wideout Demario Douglas.
But New England is not a destination for star players at the moment -- even if the Patriots want to send them a giant bag of cash. Calvin Ridley used the Pats to get more money from the Titans in free agency, and Aiyuk's camp was likely using New England as leverage as well.
Sensing that their talks with Aiyuk were going nowhere, the Patriots decided to back out rather than keep extending themselves on something that likely wasn't going to happen. It's nice to see the team get aggressive for a player, and also draw a line rather than get really silly with a contract offer.
But it would also be nice if the Patriots could seal the deal on one of these top receivers. Unfortunately, it's going to take time -- and a lot of wins -- to get top players to want to play in New England again.