One of the biggest off-season topics surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers involves a player not even on the Steelers’ roster. San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk has been frequently linked with the Steelers. When the Steelers and general manager Omar Khan restructured OLB Alex Highsmith’s contract right before the 2024 NFL Draft, speculation went into overdrive.
We all know that nothing happened and the Steelers progressed through the draft weekend as normal. The Steelers have invested in the wide receiver position this offseason, signing Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller among others. They even drafted Roman Wilson that weekend in the third round.
However, none of them match up to Aiyuk’s combination of skills and proven production at the NFL level. Nothing has been resolved between Aiyuk and the 49ers yet. That means people are still wanting to connect every dot they can. Will anything happen?
“I think it’s all up to the 49ers,” Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said on Friday’s edition of the Joe Starkey Show on 93.7 The Fan. “They gotta decide what they’re gonna do… And the Steelers, honestly, all they could do is sit back and be ready to make a move when the 49ers are ready to make a move. I don’t think the ball is in the Steelers’ court. I still think it’s in the 49ers’ court. And like I said, we’ll see what happens. I think late July, early August, I think things might heat up again with those trade talks.”
It isn’t just Steelers fans wanting a big splash move, either. Marcus Mosher of the 33rd Team tabbed the Steelers as the most likely destination for Aiyuk if the 49ers trade him.
And that’s the crux of the issue. Will the 49ers trade him? Fittipaldo talked about the conundrum facing the 49ers. Do they try to run it back with Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and company for another crack at the Super Bowl? Or do they lean into getting their cap space in order by trading either Aiyuk or Samuel?
That’s why Fittipaldo said that the ball is firmly in the 49ers’ court. Sure, the Steelers could try to pry Aiyuk away with a killer trade package. But that will hamstring the Steelers’ future and that’s just not how Khan and his front office operate. They’ll only make the move if it’s good for the Steelers.
“They’re gonna have a price in mind in what they want to pay for Aiyuk, and if the 49ers bite, you know, they’ll make that move,” Fittipaldo said. “But if the 49ers, you know, hold tight and say, Hey, we want a first and a third, I don’t think the Steelers are gonna pay that. So I think Omar as always is gonna be patient. That’s kind of what he’s known for and I think he’ll strike when the iron’s hot.”
Throughout the early offseason, the Steelers were linked with trading for QB Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears. Rather than pay a high trade price early on, Khan and the Steelers sat and waited. They were able to secure the trade with a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft rather than sacrificing a high pick in the 2024 draft.
There is certainly an expectation that the Steelers, or any team for that matter, will have to pay a high price to get Aiyuk. The question is just how high of a price it will be. Will the price increase throughout the summer or will the 49ers get desperate as the season nears?
That’s why Fittipaldo expects the trade talks could heat up come training camp time. The 49ers could feel the pressure to make a move as the season looms large. They’re already planning for the future after drafting WR Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick. So will the 49ers decide that it’s time to make a move with Aiyuk? Only time will tell.
So sit tight and enjoy the rest of the summer before training camp kicks off. Fittipaldo doesn’t think any big news on the Aiyuk front will break before the Steelers report to St Vincent College in Latrobe. Meanwhile, we get to speculate about whether Roman Wilson proves he can be a consistent threat at outside receiver or whether Van Jefferson can recapture his performance from his sophomore season in the league.
