Morning Sports Update

Tim Hasselbeck explained why the Patriots are the best option for Brandon Aiyuk amid trade report

The Patriots are reportedly one of two teams competing to acquire the talented Aiyuk.

Brandon Aiyuk Patriots trade
Brandon Aiyuk playing in a Packers-49ers playoff game in Jan. 2024. AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

By Hayden Bird

Weighing the options for Brandon Aiyuk: With only weeks to go before the start of the 2024 NFL season, the Patriots could potentially be involved in a blockbuster trade.

According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the Patriots are one of two teams (along with the Browns) that have reportedly agreed to the “framework” of a deal with the 49ers to acquire wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Aiyuk, 26, totaled 1,342 receiving yards in 2023, along with seven touchdowns. He would unquestionably become the Patriots’ No. 1 receiver if the trade went through.

Of course, the San Francisco receiver has options, and could choose Cleveland or simply to stay with his current team. But while the Patriots — with a rookie quarterback in Drake Maye — might not appear to be an immediate contender, at least one expert thinks New England is the most desirable destination.

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Former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck thinks the Patriots should be Aiyuk’s goal if he wants to play (and get paid) like a true top receiver.

“That to me was always the spot,” Hasselbeck said of New England during a Tuesday segment on ESPN’s “Get Up!”

“If it was like, ‘Hey, find the best spot for Brandon Aiyuk,’ it’s New England,” Hasselbeck continued. “You go to New England, you’re far and away the most dangerous player on that offense. And now all of sudden, you’re going to get targeted a bunch. I mean you could end up with 115 catches if you’re a true No. 1 wide receiver that goes to New England.”

On the other side, Hasselbeck sees the acquisition of Aiyuk as an imperative for the Patriots in assisting Maye’s growth at the NFL level.

“In terms of the development of the quarterback, I mean everyone has said: It’s a talent-deficient team in New England. If they’re going to have success with Drake Maye, they’ve got to put better players around him. You can’t just do it in the draft. It’ll take too long.”

Trivia: Who is the most recent Patriots player to record a season of at least 1,000 receiving yards who is NOT named either Julian Edelman or Rob Gronkowski?

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(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He did it in 2017, and now plays for a team in the NFC East.

Scores and schedules:

The Red Sox defeated the Royals 9-5 on Monday, with Boston totaling 18 hits in an impressive offensive display. The two teams play again tonight in Kansas City at 8:10 p.m.

Also tonight, the Revolution will host Nashville SC in Leagues Cup group play at 7:10 p.m.

And the Paris Olympics continue, with both Team USA basketball and the U.S. women’s soccer team set to play in the knockout rounds.

More from Boston.com:

A standup moment from the Olympics: Mondo Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record at the Paris Olympics on Monday. Duplantis’s latest achievement is his ninth time setting a new world record, and it came long after he’d already successfully defended his gold medal from the Tokyo Games.

A local organization having an impact: Every year since 2015, the National Urban Sports Classic has been hosted by a local non-profit known as “The BASE.” The 2024 Classic recently concluded, having brought together more than 33 teams from across the country to compete in baseball, softball and basketball.

On this day: In 2001, a plethora of stories — including Terry Glenn’s unexcused absence from training camp, Pedro Martinez’s recovery from injury, and Scott Hatteberg both hitting into a triple play and also swatting a grand slam in a Red Sox win over the Rangers — were rendered insignificant by the sudden death of Patriots assistant Dick Rehbein.

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Rehbein was 45 when he suffered heart failure. The Patriots canceled training camp events, mourning the loss of one of their own. Though he died at the start of the 2001 season, Rehbein’s legacy will live on forever in Foxborough. As the team’s quarterback’s coach, he had been the original champion for drafting Tom Brady within the Patriots organization.

2001 Globe Sports Patriots Rehbein Red Sox Hatteberg

Daily highlight: Ceddanne Rafaela made one of the catches of the season in Monday’s Red Sox win.

Trivia answer: Brandin Cooks