It’s unclear what will come next in the Brandon Aiyuk saga as the San Francisco 49ers’wide receiver wants a trade and can’t come to an agreement on the contract extension. For right now, there are multiple teams still having “active conversations” with GM John Lynch, according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero.
During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show Tuesday afternoon, Pelissero stated that nothing is close to happening with Aiyuk, but that there are active conversations happening with “more than two teams.” That would mean at least the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots, based on previous reporting.
“I would say there are still active conversations. There are still active conversations with more than two teams. I would put it that way,” Pelissero said of the Aiyuk situation, according to video via The Riche Eisen Show on the Roku channel. “Again, because there’s different scenarios that could end up playing out with everything here, it’s not merely a matter of who the 49ers have agreed with on compensation with at this point. Ultimately, Aiyuk has, again, a level of control over this that, ‘Hey, this is the best contract. This is where I want to go now, figure out what that’s going to look like.’ So we still have moving parts here. All the teams that have been out there, between the Browns and the Patriots, the Steelers, the Commanders on some level, everybody has been involved.
“And, you know, that’s what happens when you’ve got a really dynamic young player who’s coming off his best season in the NFL and teams think that he can be a difference maker. But the 49ers have to get what they want and Aiyuk has to get what he wants. And so far, those two things have not meshed together.”
Clearly, those two things have not meshed together as there is no deal done just yet regarding Aiyuk. But that’s largely where things stand right now. The 49ers are having conversations with some teams regarding trade compensation, and they have given Aiyuk and his agent permission to talk to certain teams regarding a contract extension.
While the 49ers might have agreed to the framework of a trade with certain teams based on compensation, Aiyuk might not have reached a contract agreement with those teams, or doesn’t want to go there, leading to the standoff, in a sense.
Based on previous reporting, the Steelers have been engaged. They’ve had interest in Aiyuk dating back to the 2024 NFL Draft, but they have been unable to land the standout receiver due to the trade ask from the 49ers, which is reportedly steep and starts with at least a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter does not expect the Steelers to be a landing spot for Aiyuk.
Though Steelers GM Omar Khan has been aggressive in personnel decisions since taking over ahead of the 2022 season, the ask for Aiyuk from the 49ers is seemingly too high, and the shrewd GM doesn’t want to bite, essentially calling the 49ers’ bluff.
We’ll see what happens moving forward. Though it appears the Steelers are out on Aiyuk due to the ask from the 49ers, Pelissero stated that he’s learned to never say never when reports are a team is out on a player, citing the Deshaun Watson situation in Cleveland.
But right now, it seems unlikely. It’s a fluid situation and things can change since Aiyuk has mentioned in the past that he wants to play for head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers if he plays elsewhere in 2024 and beyond.
