Throughout August, trade rumors surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk have dragged on and on and on. And they could be dragging on further. On The Insiders on NFL Network Monday, Mike Garafolo said that all options remain on the table for Aiyuk, but if he doesn’t sign an extension and enters 2024 playing out the last year of his contract, then the saga will continue.
“We’re getting close to the start of the season here. So, at some point, is it gonna be staying in San Francisco, is it gonna be a trade to the Steelers, or is it gonna be a trade to another team? Remember, there were other teams involved way back, can they circle back and try that route again? And all this stuff has been discussed, my understanding, according to my sources inside that 49ers building. So it’s getting close to nut-cutting time. And one option on the table is for Brandon Aiyuk to play out the last year of his contract, and that doesn’t seem to work for anybody. I don’t feel like that’s a good solution for anybody. So if we get to that point, the saga’s gonna continue into the regular season,” Garafolo said.
At this point, Pittsburgh’s chances of landing Aiyuk feel unlikely, given where we are. Aiyuk and the 49ers have returned to the table to work on a new deal, and Garafolo re-iterated that there’s just one final thing to work out between the two sides. That’s been the case for over a week now, though, and no deal has been ironed out, so if things continue to drag without an extension, a trade could still be possible.
While Pittsburgh has been the team most closely linked with Aiyuk, other teams, including the Washington Commanders, could re-enter the picture. The 49ers kick off against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football for their Week 1 matchup in just two weeks, so as Garafolo said, it’s nut-cutting time for both sides to figure something out.
If the trade rumors surrounding Aiyuk do continue into the regular season, it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. Aiyuk could sit out games, although he’d be costing himself money. However, if he plays and plays well, it could drive the price up and motivate San Francisco to try to work something out long-term as a team with Super Bowl hopes.
From a Steelers’ perspective, timing will matter when it comes to trade for Aiyuk. If Aiyuk is traded early into the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they remained involved, but the further it drags on, it would depend on how the Steelers are doing and if they like their receiver production. It might not be worth trading assets during the season for Aiyuk if the team is happy with what they’re getting out of their receivers.
We should be getting closer to a resolution given the fact that the season is coming up in under two weeks, but given how long everything involving Aiyuk has dragged on, no one should be surprised if this continues into the regular season.
