Yes, it's a long shot and the 49ers seem unlikely to trade him, but Brett Veach would do well to at least kick the tires on the situation for now.
In a sports media landscape filled with hot takes, quick judgments, and low-hanging fruit, it feels important to request some patience from the outset. That's because any mention of the Kansas City Chiefs in conjunction with Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors is likely to set most fans clicking in one direction or another with some instant emotions.
Here's the present situation: Brandon Aiyuk is doing everything he can to work his way out of San Francisco. He's asked for a trade after spurning the team's best offer to date (supposedly a deal worth $26 million per season offered back in May) and he's generating said drama a week before the entire team is scheduled to report for training camp.
Aiyuk is following the "distractions" script hoping to pressure the Niners into making a decision one way or another (to offer more money or to deal him away), but the truth is the 49ers' brass holds all the cards here—like all 52—and even poor representation should have made this clear to Aiyuk. Apparently it doesn't matter, however, because Aiyuk wants out.
If you throw a digital rock, you'll hit an article providing potential destinations or likely trade partners for a Brandon Aiyuk deal. But the Kansas City Chiefs are nowhere to be found on any of them. That's for good reason—ranging from the fact that Aiyuk will want a long-term deal with any new team to the fact that the Niners will ask for the moon in compensation. Importing a star is a great way for a good team to make the leap, but doing so strips a contender of long-term flexibility.
So why are we even mentioning the Chiefs here? Because it's wrong to assume anything in the NFL. Things can change quickly in the face of player demands, team needs, and marketplace shfits. Just ask the Chiefs about Tyreek Hill, a player who came into his final week with the team ready to negotiate a new long-term deal before an altered market forced general manager Brett Veach to trade him to the Miami Dolphins for five draft choices.
On the surface, any team should want Aiyuk, a prolific young receiver who is a vital part of the 49ers vaunted offense. Just last year, he took 75 catches for more than 1,340 yards, which shows how great of a threat he is from anywhere with the ball in his hand. Such offensive weapons rarely change teams, and that's why his trade demands are churning out headlines league-wide.
Back to the Chiefs specifically for a second. Not only should every team at least ask what the 49ers would want from them from Brandon Aiyuk, but the timing fits for this kind of acquisition. Let's take a quick look at some key offensive factors.
1. Travis Kelce's age/contract
The Chiefs have a primary offensive weapon for Patrick Mahomes in Travis Kelce and he's got two years left at the NFL level committed to the Chiefs. At that point, the future Hall of Fame tight end will be entrenched in his mid-thirties with plenty of post-career options in the sports and entertainment industries—something he's already talking about this far out.
With that said, the Chiefs will want someone coming into their prime in the next year or two to provide a dependable target for Mahomes. His game-breaking talent would give the Chiefs their best playmaker since losing Hill in the aforementioned trade, so we're pretty sure Mahomes would sign off on having Aiyuk at his disposal.
2. Hollywood is short term
The Chiefs already have Hollywood Brown as a reliable wideout working next to Travis Kelce, but let's not forget that Brown signed a single-season deal in free agency to rebuild his market value. If he re-signs with the Chiefs to stay longer, it'll be at a much higher rate and it's more likely that he takes the JuJu Smith-Schuster path out of town.
3. Rashee Rice's looming suspension
The other major variable in this worth noting is that Rashee Rice's looming suspension that could go for several games—no one would be surprised if it was up to a half season—is more of a factor in 2025. That's because the latest reports from earlier this summer stated that the league might wait until the legal process is fully played out before punishing Rice for his involvement in a multi-vehicle accident due to his reckless driving earlier this offseason.
If the league waits until 2025 to punish Rice for several games, that means the Chiefs will be looking at a very thin WR room after watching Hollywood Brown likely sign elsewhere. Of course, another offseason brings another draft class and free agent signing period, but this scenario is at least worth mentioning as part of the potential reality facing the Chiefs offense as they consider a move for Aiyuk.
4. Xavier Worthy is no guarantee
As long as we're talking about what could go wrong with the offense—Kelce aging, Hollywood leaving, Rice sitting—then we also have to bring up the long-term durability concerns for Xavier Worthy, the speedy deep threat out of Texas who was the Chiefs' first-round pick at No. 28 overall.
Worthy came into the NFL with proven production for the Longhorns as a slender, speedy receiver but the NFL is another level. He's already dealt with hamstring concerns, which have frustrated some fans online who are quick to label. While such trolls are being ridiculous and getting way too ahead of themselves, we'd be irresponsible if we didn't mention it.
5. Aiyuk is a truly elite player
Such a move for Aiyuk would entail draft or player compensation via a trade to the 49ers as well as a major contract worked out with the player himself. That's a hefty price to pay at this stage and a large segment of Chiefs Kingdom will likely say they are out on the merits of the cost alone, but there's no denying the offense has shifted down a couple of gears since losing Hill to Miami in 2022.
In a sense, Aiyuk is a brass ring of a player, a versatile weapon who would fit ideally in Andy Reid's system. When those guys come along, teams would be wise to at least check in and see what it would take.
6. A chance to make history
At the present time, the Chiefs are already guaranteed to be mentioned alongside the greatest stretches of success in NFL history. They'll be noted like the mid-'90s Dallas Cowboys or the Pittsburgh Steelers of the '70s or the New England Patriots in recent years. But the Chiefs have the very, very rare opportunity to elevate themselves to a level previously unknown in NFL history in 2024.
With a Super Bowl victory in '24, the Chiefs become the first team in league history to achieve such a three-peat. The mountain is hard enough to summit, and the Chiefs are already in elite company as back-to-back winners. But so few rosters have been so expertly put together and enjoyed such continuity of leadership.
Everyone involved in the Chiefs organization has to know how rare this opportunity is standing in front of them. Yes, they'll be contenders for the next decade or more—as long as Patrick Mahomes stands under center. But three straight Lombardis is beyond legendary—it was previously unthinkable.
With so much on the line, it might be worth mortgaging a bit of the future for the chance to put your best foot forward when it matters most.
Concluding thoughts
Just to be clear, all of this is a major stretch. The Chiefs can stay competitive by staying young and that means as much cost-controlled talent as possible. Trading away a first-round pick and paying through the nose for another star player is the opposite of that and would be a major surprise. That's why most people don't even think to include the Chiefs in such thought exercises.
That said, the Chiefs have made these sorts of moves before and Brett Veach is a dice-roller to be sure. Aiyuk would take the offense to a whole other level while also keeping it dangerous in the face of several questions. A move worth making? Potentially. At the very least, it's worth kicking the tires.