The San Francisco 49ers and GM John Lynch have been adamant that they aren’t looking to trade standout wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but if they end up needing to trade him because they can’t work out a long-term deal, the 49ers know what they want in return.
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the 49ers would like a first-round pick for Aiyuk in a trade.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday, Rapoport stated that he doesn’t know if an Aiyuk trade will get done, but he is reporting that the 49ers have a price in mind for him.
“I know the 49ers…there are definitely other teams interested in paying some draft capital. I know the 49ers would like a one,” Rapoport stated, according to video via McAfee’s Twitter account. “I don’t know that another team is there yet, but I think the main thing is the market is getting more defined by the day. The DeVonta Smith deal, that’s $25 million per year in new money. This one will probably for the first three years, end up at around $28 [million] per year, new money over the first three years.
“The market is pretty well defined if the 49ers are able to get done.”
In days the 49ers have seen the wide receiver salary market get reset with Philadelphia’s DeVonta Smith and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown signing large contract extensions.
Throughout the offseason, the Steelers have been connected to Aiyuk via trade in some form or fashion, whether it was because of Aiyuk tweeting at Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin or posting on in his Instagram live that the draft could bring fireworks for him, hinting at a potential trade.
San Francisco has been adamant about keeping him, with Lynch even stating earlier in the week that the 49ers and Aiyuk were engaged in contract talks. But nothing has come to fruition, leading to some reports that the Steelers were gaining ground on an Aiyuk deal, which the receiver’s agent shot down on social media.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported one week ago that the Steelers placed a call to the 49ers.
However, that was also rebuffed by Aiyuk’s agent. Even the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers made a call to the Niners regarding Aiyuk. There seems to be some general interest there from the Steelers’ perspective, but how aggressive they’ve been — or not been — is unclear.
If Pittsburgh is going to be in the Aiyuk market, it’s going to cost not only a first-round pick, like Rapoport stated on Wednesday, following up on Michael Silver’s report on Tuesday. It’s also going to cost the Steelers quite a bit of money, too, in an extension for the receiver, something the franchise simply doesn’t do historically when trading for a player.
Should Pittsburgh be in the Aiyuk sweepstakes, it would likely cost No. 20 overall on Thursday night, to which Florio reported Tuesday that if a trade were to happen between the Steelers and the 49ers regarding Aiyuk, it would happen with the Steelers on the clock at No. 20 overall.
The possibility for a trade for Aiyuk increased Wednesday afternoon, as the Steelers reportedly restructured outside linebacker Alex Highsmith’s contract, freeing up around $7 million in cap space. Prior to the restructure, the Steelers had around $12 million in salary cap space entering the draft.
Though Highsmith’s deal was likely going to be restructured at some point this summer, it is certainly noteworthy that the Steelers did this the day before the draft, especially as they have been linked to some receivers via trade, like Aiyuk and Denver’s Courtland Sutton.
