Should the Pittsburgh Steelers pursue a trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk? Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks they should—but he doubts their propensity to pony up for it. Making such moves costs a good chunk of change, both monetary and otherwise, though to their credit, the Steelers are breaking habits they’ve previously held for many years.
“They should [make a significant push to trade for Brandon Aiyuk], though it might cost too much money”, Dulac said. This remark comes from his latest chat session at the Post-Gazette, specifically addressing that question. He also said that he believes their significant moves in free agency are done, yet also commented, “Oh there’s a chance” that they acquire Aiyuk. “But it’s a lot to give up, especially when you have George Pickens”.
Aiyuk is in the final year of his rookie contract after four seasons, playing under his fifth-year option. Many believe that the 49ers cannot afford to extend him due to the many other high-priced commitments already under contract.
They already have elite skill-position players in WR Deebo Samuel, TE George Kittle, and RB Christian McCaffery. Aiyuk is almost a luxury in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and they can land a starting wide receiver in the draft.
The Steelers, on the other hand, just traded one of their top receivers in Diontae Johnson. That puts the spotlight on Pickens, who posted his first 1,000-yard season in 2023, but must continue to improve.
Dave Bryan previously examined the plausibility of the Steelers trading for Brandon Aiyuk, concluding that they can do it. Doing so would prove to be quite costly, though, and likely make him the second-highest-paid player behind T.J. Watt. On top of that, they likely give up at least a Day-Two draft pick.
So if the 49ers deal him and turn around and use that pick to draft a wide receiver, why don’t the Steelers just do that? Well, they very well may do that. But Dulac expresses confidence that they add a very significant piece to the room, “one way or the other”.
Notably, he does say that he expects the Steelers to “window shop” but doesn’t know that they buy. Yet he never goes so far as to dismiss the notion of them completing a deal for Aiyuk. The strongest he gets is saying that he’s “not sure it’s going to happen” due to the cost.
The Steelers have largely successfully reconditioned us regarding how they operate. Big, bold moves are now on the table under general manager Omar Khan—even if Kevin Colbert landed Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Still, after the past few weeks, I think everybody is gun-shy about dismissing a move like this out of hand. After all, Aiyuk looks an awful lot like head coach Mike Tomlin, and that surely counts for something.
