Following another defeat in the Super Bowl, once again at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers entered the offseason wondering what went wrong. San Francisco has been so close to getting itself back to the mountaintop, only to see everything crumble right before its eyes.

The 49ers changed quarterbacks and brought in more offensive weapons to counter the Chiefs, only for the same result to occur as did during their prior Super Bowl encounter. The 49ers’ front office has taken a long look at where else the team could tweak its roster, bringing about rumors of San Francisco moving off one or both of its two-star wide receivers. Both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are looking for massive contract extensions, something that the 49ers will need to address at some point.

While trade rumors swirled, 49ers general manager John Lynch fueled the fire by drafting wide receiver Ricky Pearsall out of the University of Florida in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Lynch appeared on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” and addressed the rumors that the 49ers may be looking to move off one of, or even both, receivers this offseason.

“I love our roster,” Lynch said. “I love the way it’s comprised. As I said, we were right there. And we got to find a way to get just a little bit better. And I’m doing everything in my power to keep our roster together and that’s my goal.”

Here are three intriguing possible landing spots for either Samuel or Aiyuk, if the 49ers do move on from them:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

If there is any club that needs to land a big-time wide receiver, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. After trading away Diontae Johnson this offseason, the Steelers are left relying on George Pickens to be their top option. They did draft Roman Wilson out of Michigan, but relying on a rookie can be tough.

If Pittsburgh were to land either Samuel or Aiyuk, it could be a game-changer within the AFC North. Landing either one of them could vault the Steelers toward the top of the division, and would give presumed starting quarterback Russell Wilson some talent to work with. Don’t sleep on Pittsburgh being aggressive here after a great offseason so far.

2. Buffalo Bills

After trading away Stefon Diggs and letting Gabe Davis walk, the Bills find themselves in a precarious spot at the wide receiver position. While the team did draft Keon Johnson and sign Chase Claypool, Buffalo could use a star.

Someone like Samuel or Aiyuk would help this offense thrive and give quarterback Josh Allen a true No. 1 option to throw too. Buffalo has been aggressive in the past in making trades, so there is no reason to think they won’t be here.

3. Washington Commanders

After drafting No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, Washington needs to surround the exciting young quarterback with weapons to throw the ball too. While they have Terry McLaurin, they could use another star next to him. Either Samuel or Aiyuk would do wonders for this Commanders offense and the team has all their draft picks for the next few years.

San Francisco could easily recoup some draft capital here and use Pearsall to fill the void. Washington makes a lot of sense but the 49ers may want to push for a trade to an AFC squad instead.