The Cleveland Browns are in their third week of searching for a new head coach, but regardless of who the coach ends up being, this roster needs serious work. The Browns needed a two-game winning streak to close out the year just to reach five wins, and it was clear that the offense didn’t make the necessary improvements after ranking dead last in scoring in 2024.
There are a lot of holes in this offense, as the quarterback position is up in the air, the offensive line is about to lose four of its five starters to free agency, and the wide receiver room is undeniably among the worst in the NFL. QB likely doesn’t get solved this offseason as the team has just about tied itself to Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson for another year, while the offensive line could get patched together via the draft and free agency, and the wide receiver problem could be significantly improved with a big trade.
Jake Vulinec of Overtime on 92.3 The Fan recently floated the idea of making a trade of that nature and approaching the San Francisco 49ers for a Brandon Aiyuk Trade. Niners brass has made it abundantly clear that Aiyuk’s tenure in SF is done, and he’d certainly be a major upgrade for the Browns if they opt to go that route.
“[Brandon Aiyuk’s] owed $15 million going into next season. You have an out after that, but if not, it’s $41 million if you keep that same contract. How much is San Fran willing to eat of that? I just turn to the Browns’ WR room. How do you sit here and deny talent? There might be some attitude problems with Aiyuk. There might be injury concerns. What you can’t argue is the fact he’s a damn good WR,” Vulinec said.
"I just turn to the Browns WR room…how do you sit here and deny talent? There might be some attitude problems with Aiyuk. There might be injury concerns. What you can't argue is the fact he's a damn good WR."
🚨@VulinecJake on whether #Browns should be in on the #49ers WR pic.twitter.com/JYs2eQzQOb
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) January 22, 2026
The Browns certainly have the extra draft picks to stomach a trade like this, but they don’t have the cap space, which is why Vulinec pointed out the importance of the Niners potentially eating some of Aiyuk’s deal. With the sixth and 24th picks in the upcoming draft, Cleveland can certainly use one of those picks on a receiver, but if they take a receiver at No. 24 and trade for Aiyuk, suddenly one of the team’s weakest position groups could become one of its strongest.
Looking at the idea from a different angle, the optics of this might not be great. This is a messy breakup between Aiyuk and the Niners, and with the fan base’s patience wearing thin due to the Watson deal and all his off-field issues, there are going to be a lot of worried fans if the front office brings in another star with question marks off the field.
By all accounts, Aiyuk should be healthy for training camp. If the team can find a way to make a deal make sense, it’s certainly something that should be considered.
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