Brandon Aiyuk still isn’t a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and as time passes, it’s beginning to seem more and more likely that he never will be. The past 24 hours have seen the saga of Aiyuk to the Steelers reach new levels of intensity. While new reports have made it seem like there’s no chance Aiyuk lands in Pittsburgh, there is still some speculation that the San Francisco 49ers are just trying to drive the price up for the Steelers. Former general manager Michael Lombardi does not believe that is the case at all, though.
Appearing on the show A Number’s Game on VSiN, Lombardi was asked if he thinks the 49ers are trying to force the Steelers to pay more because they are Aiyuk’s preferred destination.
“When have you ever seen Pittsburgh do anything remotely like this?” Lombardi asked. “When have you ever seen them act like this? When have you ever seen them trade away draft picks and then pay ridiculous sums of money for a player? That’s not who they are. That’s not who they are then, that’s not who they’re ever gonna be.
“Nothing’s changed in Pittsburgh. Omar Khan is the general manager, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have a philosophy. I don’t think they’re doing that.”
Lombardi is right on the money with his analysis here. As progressive as Khan has been since becoming the general manager, trading for Aiyuk might just be too far out of the Steelers’ comfort zone. Since Khan took over, he’s made trades, but they haven’t been gigantic splash moves like an Aiyuk deal would be.
When he traded Chase Claypool, it was because the Chicago Bears were willing to give up way too much for a player who was wearing out his time in Pittsburgh. When he traded Diontae Johnson away and receiver Donte Jackson, there wasn’t an immediate deal in place for Jackson, who is in the last year of his deal. Even the Justin Fields trade was low-risk and high-reward for the Steelers.
While Khan has taken more chances since becoming general manager, none of those moves have created very much risk for the Steelers. An Aiyuk trade would be full of risk. He’s an exceptional player, but that means he’d have to be paid as such. With no quarterback plan in place after this season, investing that much money and draft capital in a receiver could be dangerous.
He would instantly improve the Steelers’ offense, but Khan has proven that he isn’t going to make a deal if he doesn’t think the Steelers will absolutely walk out a better team. Maybe a couple of years ago, before Ben Roethlisberger began to decline, it would’ve made sense, but it just isn’t the Steelers’ way of doing business. Something could still happen, so never say never, but it would break all sorts of precedent for this team.
