JULY 16 – AIYUK ON THE MOVE? – Rumors have swirled around San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk for months now. He, justifiably, wants to be paid like a star. San Francisco, strapped for cash and in a win-now window, hasn’t budged.

On Tuesday, Aiyuk took the next step in securing his massive pay day by officially requesting a trade, per Mike Garafolo.

While the 49ers don’t have to oblige, Aiyuk’s frustrations won’t cool down anytime soon. Could the New York Giants be interested?

To an extent, they should be. Drafting LSU receiver Malik Nabers takes away New York’s urgent need on the perimeter. But if New York can create the long-term cap space necessary to extend Aiyuk, adding a second star receiver would make life easier on quarterback Daniel Jones and the quarterback who eventually replaces him.

Of course, trading Aiyuk likely damages those latter efforts, which could make things messy.

Unfortunately for New York, the Washington Commanders are one of the speculated favorites for Aiyuk’s services – a move that could leave the Giants in the cellar of the NFC East.

JULY 16 – JOINT PRACTICE SCHEDULE – A frequent tradition of the NFL’s summer circuit is joint practices, where teams practice against each other before their respective preseason matchups. The only teams that will not be participating this year are the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders.

This gives players an opportunity to compete against fresh faces, add additional context to their preseason evaluations, and measure their skills against their peers.

That first taste of real competition can turn hostile. Every year, fights break out across a couple of practices, briefly going viral before a meaningless exhibition.