In the end, it doesn’t appear the Pittsburgh Steelers will land San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. If there were a time for that to occur, it would’ve been before or during the first round. And though the 49ers seemed to engage teams in trade discussions, one didn’t materialize. We won’t know how serious Pittsburgh was, but based on their pre-draft move of restructuring OLB Alex Highsmith’s contract, freeing up more than $7 million in cap space, they seemed prepared to make a splash.
But just because Aiyuk seems off the table, it doesn’t mean the Steelers are done making moves. Pittsburgh still has that cap space to work with, and speaking to reporters post-draft, Khan left the door open to continue improving the team even though the draft has been completed.
“We’ll see. As I’ve said it before, if there’s ever an opportunity to improve the team, we’re gonna look at it,” Khan said via the team’s YouTube channel. “And if it makes sense, we’re gonna go after. But we restructured Alex’s deal and like you said, it puts us in a position to be flexible with some things if there’s an opportunity to do something.”
One day before the draft, Pittsburgh reworked Highsmith’s deal to give them over $19 million of cap space as a team. In a vacuum, freeing up cap space through Highsmith’s deal wouldn’t raise alarm bells. It was probably going to occur at some point in the offseason. But the Steelers had no pressing need to restructure 24 hours before Round One, suggesting they would at least explore a splashy move for a receiver and have the financial flexibility to absorb their contract.
While Aiyuk seems to be off the table, others could enter the mix. There have been and likely will be even more rumors surrounding the Denver Broncos’ Courtland Sutton who could be moved as Denver retools their offense. While it was only a fourth-round pick, the Broncos took Oregon WR Troy Franklin who many viewed as a Day Two talent. Sutton is skipping workouts and could force his way out of town.
Pittsburgh drafted Roman Wilson but could use a more defined outside receiver. Sutton would fit. Or perhaps the team would find another option as more names become available post-draft in a receiver-heavy class that saw ten names populate the top 50.
