To this point, there have been a lot of rumors surrounding the status of disgruntled San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, but not a whole lot of specifics on the teams that could be inquiring. He recently unfollowed the 49ers on social media, and members of his family and inner circle expressed displeasure with his role in the Super Bowl loss in which he only caught three passes for 49 yards on six targets. He is playing on the fifth-year option for 2024 unless a new contract is finalized, and after a career year, he understandably wants to cash in on some long-term financial security.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers have had several rumors linking them to Aiyuk in a possible trade, there hasn’t been a Steelers insider to confirm the team is actually interested. During Tuesday’s Steelers chat on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gerry Dulac was the first to mention that the Steelers have in fact pursued Aiyuk when asked about it.
“They would love to pursue Aiyuk, and have, but that doesn’t mean the 49ers want to trade him,” Dulac wrote. “That’s what they have wanted to do — find a big-time veteran receiver to pair w[ith] George Pickens.”
So there you have it. Where there was a lot of smoke, there is at least a little fire. The Aiyuk saga has had its ups and down this offseason. Things heated up when Aiyuk tweeted directly at Mike Tomlin, but he later explained why he did that and claimed it was just a negotiating tactic to light a fire under the 49ers’ front office.
John Lynch, the 49ers GM, spoke to the media during the NFL Owner’s meetings in Orlando last month and dismissed that anything was happening, and stated they are looking to negotiate a long-term deal to keep Aiyuk in San Francisco.
NFL insider Jason La Canfora also mentioned on a recent podcast appearance that the Steelers are trying to make something happen at the WR position, and noted a trade could be in play all the way up until they are on the clock for their first pick next Thursday.
Finally, Ian Rapoport reported on Monday that teams have reached out about Aiyuk, but said that the 49ers have not entertained any offers to his knowledge.
Aiyuk has been an ascending talent over his first four seasons, with a career-high 1,342 yards last season on 75 receptions. He torched the Steelers in Week 1, which could have caught their attention. He had eight receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener last year.
The key factor to consider with the likelihood of the Steelers trading for Aiyuk is their lack of making contract guarantees to non-quarterbacks outside of Year 1. They would also likely need to part ways with valuable draft capital and then turn around and make an external acquisition one of the highest-paid players on the roster. That would be a monumental shift in the way the Steelers typically do things.
To accommodate a trade, the Steelers would need to clear some cap space, so we would likely see the trade coming before it breaks. His fifth-year option is a little over $14 million fully guaranteed for 2024, while the Steelers have just a little over $12 million in available cap space, per Dave Bryan’s latest salary cap update.
Until a new contract is signed or the Steelers select a WR high in the draft next week, these rumors are going to persist.
