As the trade talks heat up surrounding San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, the Pittsburgh Steelers are right in the mix as things have changed dramatically in the last 24 hours.
Following reports Monday night and early Tuesday morning that the Steelers were no longer a realistic option for Aiyuk, the two teams have reportedly re-engaged in trade talks with the Steelers Aiyuk’s preferred destination.
Though the 49ers have reportedly had trades in place with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots before New England backed out of talks Tuesday night, no such trade has been reported to be in place for the Steelers.
Knowing that, NBC Sports Bay Area reporter Matt Maiocco took a shot at projecting what a trade between the Steelers and 49ers could look like.
In that potential trade, Maiocco believes that barring the Steelers shockingly trading third-year receiver George Pickens to the 49ers to then pay Aiyuk big money, Pittsburgh’s package would center on two Day 2 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Unlike the Browns and Patriots, the Steelers do not have an obvious player to include in a trade to acquire Aiyuk,” Maiocco writes regarding a potential trade package from Pittsburgh. “Wide receiver George Pickens enters his third NFL season. He caught 63 passes for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. So would the Steelers part ways with him in order to pay big money to Aiyuk? That is questionable.
“If no player is involved, the 49ers could seek two second-day [draft] picks. Let’s say the 49ers acquire second- and third-round selections from Pittsburgh, along with another pick in the 2026 draft.”
On the surface of Maiocco’s projected trade package of a second- and third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and then another pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, seems more than doable for the Steelers and GM Omar Khan.
Previously, the reporting was that the 49ers were asking for a first-round pick and more in an Aiyuk trade. That made the asking price rather steep for a team that would be not only trading for Aiyuk, but then turning around and paying him a market-value deal at the receiver position, which has exploded this offseason with guys getting north of $30 million per year consistently.
Obviously, teams have been unwilling to give the Niners what they’ve been asking for, and with Aiyuk holding all the leverage here by choosing where he wants to sign a long-term extension, the 49ers have had to seemingly lower the asking price some. That has caused talks to heat up as the start of the regular season draws closer.
The Steelers have reportedly been interested in Aiyuk dating back to the 2024 NFL Draft in late April when Pittsburgh very clearly had a need for another wide receiver opposite George Pickens. Much of the attention has focused on Aiyuk, who has played a part in that.
The 49ers standout receiver tweeted at Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in the offseason about a link-up, then said on “The Pivot Podcast” that he believes he’ll play for the 49ers, Steelers or Washington Commanders in 2024. He officially requested a trade right before reporting to training camp, where he is conducting a hold-in.
We’ll see what happens moving forward, but it seems more and more likely that the Aiyuk situation is coming to a conclusion one way or another, and it’s certainly plausible that the conclusion to the entire thing involves a trade to Pittsburgh. Should it happen, it’ll be interesting to see the trade package it takes.
