It feels increasingly unlikely as the days and weeks drag on during the dog days before training camp that the Pittsburgh Steelers will trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. But with not much else to talk about, Aiyuk’s contract status and future with San Francisco is a juicy offseason topic, and on Get Up this morning, ESPN analyst Dan Graziano gave his thoughts on Aiyuk’s future with the 49ers.
“They want to keep him. But in terms of getting to a long-term deal, I’m not sure that they do. I think the market has gone beyond what the 49ers thought it would for wide receivers,” Graziano said. “And now if you’re looking at low $30 millions, that may not be where they’re comfortable, especially with Deebo [Samuel] still getting $22 million this year. So I think if they can’t get to a deal, he probably plays it out. And then at some point late in the season or early in the offseason, the Niners decide, ‘Do we pay Deebo long-term? Do we pay Aiyuk long-term?’ And I wouldn’t be surprised if Aiyuk ends up being the answer.”
It would make sense if San Francisco didn’t want to pay its top two receivers over $20 million each this year, with Aiyuk potentially climbing toward $30 million. The 49ers selected two receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft, including WR Ricky Pearsall in the first round, so the team certainly appears to be planning for a future without either Aiyuk or Samuel. If Aiyuk gets paid before this season, Samuel could very well be out at the end of 2024, whereas as Graziano said, if Aiyuk plays out his deal, the 49ers will evaluate which receiver to keep.
Basically, it doesn’t sound as if Aiyuk is going anywhere. He said this weekend that he “for sure” wants to stay with the 49ers, they want to keep him, and they’re talented enough to return to the Super Bowl after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the game last season. A team looking to compete usually doesn’t trade one of the best receivers in football, and it seems like Aiyuk will have at least one more season in San Francisco before he cashes in with the Niners or elsewhere.
While Aiyuk in Pittsburgh would make the Steelers’ offense considerably better, don’t hold your breath on a trade happening. Besides the fact of the matter that it just doesn’t sound like Aiyuk is going anywhere, the Steelers would likely be understandably hesitant to turn around and make him the highest-paid player on the roster.
We’ll see what happens with Aiyuk in the coming weeks and months, but it doesn’t appear he’ll wind up in Pittsburgh.
