Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I'm pretty sure I've lost count, but I think we're now in Day 172 of the Brandon Aiyuk trade drama. The 49ers receiver wants out of San Francisco and the 49ers are actually trying to trade him out of San Francisco, but nothing has happened yet.
We'll be giving you the latest on that situation, plus we'll be taking a look at several teams that could make the playoffs this year after missing out in 2023.
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1. Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors: Here are all the latest details
If Brandon Aiyuk truly wants to leave San Francisco, it looks like he has two options on the table.
According to NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers have the framework of a deal in place for a trade that would send Aiyuk to either New England or Cleveland. The Browns and Patriots both want him, but a deal hasn't gotten done yet because Aiyuk essentially needs to sign off on it. The 49ers' disgruntled receiver needs to agree to terms on a new contract with one of the two teams, which hasn't happened yet.
Basically, the ball is in Aiyuk's court and if he wants to leave San Francisco, then he'll need to agree to sign the deal he's offered by either the Patriots or Browns so the 49ers can finalize the trade. The 49ers gave Aiyuk permission to negotiate with four different teams. Besides the Browns and Patriots, the receiver was also allowed to talk to the Commanders and Steelers.
Here's what you know so far:
- Browns. If Aiyuk goes to Cleveland, there's been at least one report (from Cleveland.com) suggesting that the Browns would likely include Amari Cooper in any possible deal, so if a trade gets done, Cooper could end up in San Francisco.
- Patriots. If the 49ers make a deal with New England, the Patriots would likely ship Kendrick Bourne off to San Francisco as part of the trade.
- Commanders. Aiyuk is close with Jayden Daniels and there was a report suggesting that Washington might trade for the disgruntled 49ers receiver, but at this point, the Commanders have taken themselves out of the running, according to NBCSBA.
- Steelers. The report from NBC says that the Steelers are out of the running because they "declined to meet the 49ers' trade demands."
My take: Based on all the information we have, it seems like Aiyuk doesn't want to play for the Patriots or Browns; otherwise a deal would already be done. It feels like he'd prefer to land in Pittsburgh, but the 49ers don't want to make a deal there because they don't like the Steelers' offer. If Pittsburgh is willing to sweeten its offer, I think we could still see Aiyuk sent there. If I had to rank his possible landing spots at this point, I'd say: Steelers, 49ers, Browns. I don't think he'll play for the Patriots for any amount of money because it would be crazy to go from a Super Bowl contender in San Francisco to a struggling team that might be starting a rookie QB, and he knows that. I think he might eventually be willing to accept an offer in Cleveland if the Browns throw enough money at him.
No matter what happens, this feels like a situation that will likely be resolved by the end of the week at the latest, but then again, it's already dragged on for five months, so who knows.
2. Four teams that will make the playoffs in 2024 after missing out in 2023
If there's one thing that's guaranteed to happen in the NFL every year, it's the fact that there will be at least four new playoff teams. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Death, taxes and four new playoff teams" are the only certain things in life. Since 1991, the NFL has given us at least four new playoff teams every year and we don't expect this season to be any different, so Will Brinson went through and made a list of the most likely teams to make the playoffs after missing out last year.
Let's check out his list:
- Bengals. "I definitely have some concerns with Brian Callahan leaving and how a new offensive coordinator might affect this offense, but Zac Taylor is the play-caller and Joe Burrow is highly cerebral and involved so the transition should be fairly minimal. A full season of Burrow healthy should get Cincy back in the postseason."
- Jets. "The underlying problem for Rodgers -- aside from his age -- was the question marks up front on the Jets offensive line. New York went all in on addressing that problem this offseason, signing both Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses while investing a first-round pick in Olu Fashanu. If the line holds up the offense could be really fun. ... It essentially comes down to whether Rodgers is healthy or not this year."
- Bears. "Caleb Williams is a legit 'generational' prospect and the Bears have done everything they can to put a decent infrastructure in place for him. If he shows up like he did in 2022 for USC, the Bears could be a fun, fun team."
- Jaguars. "If Trevor Lawrence doesn't hurt his ankle against the Bengals in Week 13 last season, the Jaguars probably make the postseason. We can't predict health in the NFL, but he was extremely durable in college and in the pros until last season. I think there's a good chance we get a full season of Lawrence in the wake of his contract extension this offseason. That alone is enough to justify projecting the Jags as a playoff team in 2024."
Brinson actually listed SEVEN teams that he thinks will get to the playoffs this year after missing out last season, and you can check out his full list here.
3. NFL-Under-25 Team: Best offensive players under the age of 25
When you're over the age of 25 in the NFL, you're basically considered ancient, which is why he we decided to make a preseason All-Star team that only consisted of players under the age of 25.
Jordan Dajani had the honor of putting together our All-Under-25 Team on the offensive side of the ball, and here's what he came up with at the skill positions:
QB: Brock Purdy (24), 49ers
RB: Bijan Robinson (22), Falcons
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown (24), Lions
WR: Ja'Marr Chase (24), Bengals
WR: Garrett Wilson (24), Jets
TE: Sam LaPorta (23), Lions
My main takeaway with the group above is that the NFL is pretty set at the receiving position for the foreseeable future. Also, the Lions are loaded on offense.
Anyway, if you want to see the full All-Under-25 Offensive Team on the offensive side of the ball, then be sure to click here.
4. Harrison Butker gets record-setting contract from the Chiefs
Justin Tucker might be considered the best kicker in the NFL, but he's not the highest-paid kicker anymore after the Chiefs handed Harrison Butker a record-setting contract on Monday
Here's what you need to know:
- Butker gets monster deal. The Chiefs kicker landed a four-year, $25.6 million extension that includes $17.75 million in guaranteed money. Butker now makes an average of $6.4 million per year, which moves him past Justin Tucker and Jake Elliott for the title of highest-paid kicker (Tucker and Elliott both make $6 million per year).
- Why the Chiefs were willing to pay big. Butker is right up there with Tucker for the title of best kicker in the NFL and he proved it during the playoffs last season when he finished 11 for 11 on field goal attempts over the course of the postseason. Butker only had one year left on his old contract and there's no way Kansas City was going to let him go.
- Butker set two Super Bowl records. During Kansas City's win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, Butker set the SB record for longest field goal with a 57-yarder. He also tied the SB record for the most field goals in a single game with four.
- He's insanely accurate. Butker has a career accuracy percentage of 89.1%, which is the second highest in NFL history, trailing only Tucker, who sits at 90.2%. That being said, Butker has been much better than Tucker in the playoffs with a career percentage of 88.9% compared to 81.8% for Tucker.
You can read our full story on Butker's record-setting deal here.
5. Ranking NFC contenders by tiers: 49ers, Lions and Packers on top
When you look at the AFC, it feels like there are about 10 teams that could end up coming out of the conference to get to the Super Bowl this year, but in the NFC, not so much. The NFL thrives on parity, but the NFC is laughing in the face of parity this season, because it feels like there are only three or four teams that could actually get to the Super Bowl.
With that in mind, Garrett Podell decided to rank every NFC contender by tiers. The teams in Tier 1 have the best chance of getting to the Super Bowl, while the teams in Tier 5 might just want to go ahead and forfeit the season.
Let's check out Garrett's Tiers:
- Tier 1 (Real contenders): 49ers, Packers, Lions
- Tier 2 (Fringe contenders): Cowboys, Eagles, Rams
- Tier 3 (Happy to be there division winners): Falcons, Buccaneers
- Tier 4 (Wild card wilderness): Bears, Saints, Seahawks, Vikings, Commanders
- Tier 5 (We're already counting down to the 2025 draft): Giants, Cardinals, Panthers
If you want a full explanation of why each NFC team was placed in the tier they landed in, you can read Garrett's entire story here.
6. Extra points: Jayden Daniels to start this week
It was a busy weekend in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Commanders set to start rookie QB in first preseason game. Jayden Daniels will officially be making his NFL preseason debut this week. The Commanders rookie will be the team's starting QB on Saturday when Washington travels on the road to face the Jets. With Daniels starting, that pretty much makes this game must-see TV ... for at least one quarter.
- Jordan Addison hit with two charges stemming from DUI. The Vikings receiver has been hit with two misdemeanor chargers following his July arrest in California. Addison has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with .08% blood alcohol content. The receiver could be hit with a three-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy, but the NFL hasn't handed out any punishment yet. For more details on his situation, be sure to go here.
- Bengals lose Cam Sample for the season. The Bengals defensive end is out for the season after tearing his Achilles in practice. It's a major hit to Cincinnati's depth at the position as Sample played in all 17 games last season, including two starts.
- 49ers bring back their leading rusher from 2018. Matt Breida is officially reuniting with the San Francisco 49ers. The running back spent the first three seasons of his career in San Francisco, including 2018 when he led the team in rushing yards. Breida has played with three teams over the past four seasons (Dolphins, Bills, Giants), but is now returning to where it all started.
- 'Hard Knocks' with the Bears debuts tonight. The show started the year by featuring the Giants, but now, it will be switching over to the Bears. The first episode from Chicago's training camp will be available at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and a new episode will air every Tuesday thru Sept. 5. You can see a preview for the show here.
