The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on landing WR Brandon Aiyuk, as he re-signed with the San Francisco 49ers on a four-year, $120 million deal. However, the news doesn’t come as a surprise to the Steelers, as Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers were “not surprised” by the move and it’s what they expected.
“Steelers not surprised 49ers re-signed Brandon Aiyuk. It’s what they expected all along,” Dulac wrote on Twitter.
Even if they weren’t surprised by the move, it doesn’t show given they haven’t done much to add to their wide receiver room. Aiyuk would’ve been the perfect addition to the room alongside wide receiver George Pickens, but with him remaining in San Francisco, the Steelers will troy out Van Jefferson as their WR2.
Either the team is as confident as they say they are in their crop of receivers behind Pickens, another move is coming, or the Steelers were surprised by the Aiyuk news.
The Aiyuk saga has twisted and turned over the last few weeks, with the biggest hold-up on Pittsburgh’s end their unwillingness to include another player, particularly a receiver, in a potential trade for Aiyuk. The 49ers bided their time and were able to bring back one of their best players as they look to make another Super Bowl run.
It seemed a lot more likely a few weeks ago that Aiyuk would be dealt to Pittsburgh, and once those rumors died down and we got closer to the season, it did seem likely that Aiyuk would stay. Pittsburgh likely figured with the season a week away, their chances of getting Aiyuk were slim.
We’ll see where the Steelers go from here. There’s still the potential to make a move to add another receiver to the room, either via trade or someone who was recently released from another organization. But there’s no doubt that on paper, their room as it stands right now is unimpressive. An injury to Pickens right now could legitimately have the potential to sink Pittsburgh’s season, and that’s not a good place to be.
Even if it’s a move the Steelers expected, they deserve some criticism for not filling their need at receiver with a more reliable option after trading away Diontae Johnson. Right now, the room has a lot more questions than answers, and while things could work out, the room is obviously a lot worse than it would’ve been with Aiyuk in the fold. It’s probably Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness right now, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team potentially explore an addition to the group in the coming days.
