It had been relatively quiet on the Brandon Aiyuk front for the last 24 hours after a two-day frenzy at the beginning of the week. Once it became apparent that the San Francisco 49ers were open to trading Aiyuk, a number of teams jumped at the opportunity and reportedly began making offers. Among the interested teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The other two teams that were closely linked by credible NFL insiders were the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots, though Schefter reported on Tuesday evening that the Patriots were no longer pursuing Aiyuk.
In theory, that leaves the Steelers and Browns, along with the possibility of a return to the 49ers. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported on Monday evening that the 49ers had frameworks for a deal in place with both the Patriots and Browns. If that is the case, then what is the holdup?
Aiyuk has veto power in this situation. He would have to sign an extension with the team that is trading for him, and he can simply refuse to sign. Reports indicate that he doesn’t want to join the Browns.
So the 49ers have potentially found two separate suitors who were willing to offer enough compensation where they would accept, but Aiyuk seemingly is not interested in either destination. Then there are the Steelers, who CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported have not made an acceptable offer to this point.
Pittsburgh may be Aiyuk’s preferred destination, but the 49ers have to be comfortable with what they are receiving in return. It is a complex situation with conflicting interests, and that is likely why we have reached a lull in the hard reporting.
NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo still believes that the Steelers will ultimately be the landing spot for Aiyuk, and he thinks it could be happening soon.
“I will continue to say Brandon Aiyuk ends up as a Pittsburgh Steeler,” Garafolo said on The Rich Eisen Show this afternoon. I believe that that is going to wind up being the case. We do not have an agreement at this point on either side. Obviously they have a general understanding of at least where the contract is going to be. And then bing, bang, boom. You can finish that one off quickly. But yeah, I believe in the end he winds up with the Pittsburgh Steelers in relatively short order here.”
Our Dave Bryan posted a mock contract of roughly what the deal with Aiyuk might look like if he gets traded to the Steelers. In the end, the Steelers have some leverage in this situation. The 49ers have made it clear they are open to trading up, with some reports claiming they are “bothered” by Aiyuk’s behavior through this process. It also seems like Aiyuk is nixing some of the other suitors. And clearly the 49ers haven’t been able to reach the right number with him to this point to make it work. That positions Omar Khan and the Steelers to offer lower than the asking price on both the trade compensation and the Aiyuk contract amount.
Garafolo also suggested that the 49ers may be working a three-way trade so they can get a player in return instead of just draft picks. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers were only interested in offering picks. If the 49ers do indeed want a player, the three-way trade could be the workaround that finally gets this deal over the hump. It would make sense for the 49ers, who need to make sure they are maximizing their Super Bowl window while they have been so close in recent years.
Let’s all hope Garafolo’s “relatively short order” comes to pass, one way or the other.
