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A big-name wide receiver went off the free agent market Friday as Odell Beckham Jr. reached a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
Other free agent wide receivers (e.g. Tyler Boyd, Michael Thomas) remain available, but a trio of stars have been talked about in trade rumors and speculation all offseason in the San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins.
Talking about their top landing spots comes with a few caveats.
First, the draft has come and gone without them moving.
Second, as it pertains to Samuel and Aiyuk, 49ers general manager John Lynch told ESPN’s Pat McAfee “we’re past that now” regarding any trade discussions on the two.
Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News also said that not dealing Aiyuk or Samuel during the draft “almost assures their return this season, barring unforeseen drama internally or another team’s desperation before the Nov. 5 deadline.”
The franchise-tagged Higgins is a little more complicated. While he’s requested a trade in search of a long-term deal, he said last month that he anticipates playing for the Bengals in 2024. Paul Dehner Jr. of the Athletic also reported in April that the Bengals are “resolute on having Higgins return this season in an attempt to win the Super Bowl.”
What’s this all mean? Chances are all three players remain with their teams in 2024. But this is the NFL, where chaos sometimes reigns and trades appear seemingly out of thin air sometimes (e.g. Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears).
So with all that in mind, here’s a look at the top potential landing spots for each wide receiver. In this case, we’re looking at spots that would be a good match between the player and the team, for various reasons (salary cap space for a big contract, reuniting with old connections, opportunities for new teams to vastly improve offense under young quarterbacks, etc.).