Perry breaks down Patriots’ ‘rare’ handling of Aiyuk trade talks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots pulled out all the stops in their pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk this summer. Until they didn’t.

The Patriots were aggressive suitors of the star wide receiver as he sought a trade from the San Francisco 49ers, with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reporting New England offered Aiyuk more money on his next contract than any other team.

But when Aiyuk didn’t jump at the Patriots’ offer, the team did a sudden about-face. Our Patriots Insider Phil Perry shared more insight into Aiyuk’s (non) reaction to New England’s advances and how the Patriots front office responded during Tuesday’s episode of Arbella Early Edition.

“What I had heard was that financially, the Patriots were offering (Aiyuk) a lot in terms of the per-year value, as (Breer) reported,” Perry said. “The Patriots were really, really interested up to a point — and then I think it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen.

“… I actually have a pretty good idea (that Aiyuk) was not real responsive in terms of some of the things that they were putting out there to him. So, they pulled back and basically made it very clear that they didn’t want him anymore, which I think is kind of rare.

“I know things are being done a little bit differently around here now. But once you make it clear that you’re in on a player, until he signs, usually you’re still in on the guy. That wasn’t the case here.”

To Perry’s point, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Patriots were pulling out of the Aiyuk sweepstakes back on Aug. 6, and Aiyuk didn’t agree to his new deal with San Francisco until Aug. 29. New England easily could have just put their Aiyuk pursuit on hold during that three-week span and seen how things played out, but instead, they actively chose to go in a different direction before Aiyuk’s trade situation was resolved.

That might seem like a minor distinction, and it sounds like Aiyuk wasn’t going to come to New England anyway. But perhaps the Patriots were making a statement here by noting they won’t continue to court players who aren’t interested in playing for them.

The problem with that strategy, of course, is that it will be hard to attract free agents and trade targets to a team projected to have one of the NFL’s worst records (and offenses) in 2024. That’s why it’s imperative for first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and his players to show at least some signs of progress this season — whether that’s rookie Drake Maye seeing the field and flashing his potential or young wide receivers like DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker coming into their own — to prove the arrow is pointing up in New England.

Check out the full video above for more from Perry and Breer on the Patriots’ pursuit of Aiyuk.