The Pittsburgh Steelers are waiting to hear about Brandon Aiyuk from the San Francisco 49ers, as of this writing. From what I gather, it’s down to the 49ers, Aiyuk content to play for either organization. San Francisco has not yet met his contract demands, but Pittsburgh hasn’t satisfied their compensation requirements, either.
Either the 49ers will need to pay up for Aiyuk or accept less than they would like from the Steelers in order to trade for him. They could also simply tell Aiyuk that he is playing under his fifth-year option and burn that long-term bridge.
But if the Steelers don’t land Brandon Aiyuk, where do they turn to next, if anywhere? While they are pleased with Van Jefferson’s training camp performance, the depth behind George Pickens is still unsatisfying. Calvin Austin III, Quez Watkins, and Scotty Miller have all flashed, and Roman Wilson is in the pipeline. But do they have anybody they can reliably affix as their third receiver? Mike Florio isn’t so sure.
“What’ll happen is, if you have a team that has an embarrassment of riches at the position, they’re gonna try to trade the guy that they otherwise would cut”, Florio said about the Steelers’ options if they fail to land Brandon Aiyuk, appearing on 93.7 The Fan yesterday with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “So it could be a trade option emerges between now and when the rosters are slashed down to 53. You just wait, and you see, and you hope”.
The Steelers have been waiting and seeing and hoping throughout the offseason at the wide receiver position. Since opening a sizeable hole with the Diontae Johnson trade, they have made bargain moves in signing Jefferson, Watkins, and Miller. Roman Wilson in the third round proved to be their biggest splash to date. But with the regular season fast approaching, there is only so much time for Aiyuk or any addition to get up to speed.
“Ideally, you look around for any player out there that has experience with Arthur Smith”, Florio said, if the Steelers lose Aiyuk. “That makes the transition easier. You’ve got to find guys who can come in and play right away. It doesn’t matter how good you are in the abstract. It matters how quickly you can get up to speed with this offense and make a difference”.
Of course, the Steelers have seemingly already collected most of the receivers who previously played for Smith. That list includes two currently on the roster, Jefferson and Miller. On the whole, the potential trade market outside of Brandon Aiyuk is not overwhelming. Roster cuts will inevitably be even less inviting.
Some reporters believe the Steelers are prepared to move on with what they already have if the Brandon Aiyuk trade falls through. I tend to agree with that point of view, but then you never know. The Steelers have an established history of making trades, and general manager Omar Khan has an aggressive streak.
