Patriots Eye Aiyuk as A.J. Brown Backup

0:00On March 30, the New England Patriots keep stacking wide receivers this off-season, with AJ Brown from the Eagles as their dream target. But whispers are growing about Brandon Ayukh from the San Francisco 49ers as a solid backup plan. Earlier this week, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said they would love to trade Ayukh instead of just cutting him loose. The team is not rushing the deal and wants something solid in return. Ayukh had a monster year in 2023, hauling in 75 catches for 1,342 yards and 7 scores. But a torn ACL in 2024 and off-field issues limited him to just 7 games over the last two seasons. Patriots' brass has liked Ayukh for a while, even sniffing around a trade before last season. Sure, he's a gamble after the injury in drama, but New England has the cap space to roll the dice. While Brown stays the big prize, keep an eye on Ayukh as talks heat up this off-season. That's the story for today in NFL News Today, driven by AI.