The San Francisco searched high and low to find a way to trade Brandon Aiyuk to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the end, they couldn’t work out a deal. Not between themselves and Pittsburgh, nor with the help of a third party. An hour after news broke that Aiyuk was re-signing in San Francisco, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini dropped a wild piece of information on one trade the 49ers attempted to pull off involving Courtland Sutton, Aiyuk, and the Steelers.
“The 49ers only were willing to trade Brandon Aiyuk if they could get a top-flight WR to replace him,” she tweeted. “They offered a third-round pick to Denver for Courtland Sutton, and then would’ve dealt Aiyuk to the Steelers, but the Broncos declined the offer.”
NFL Mad Libs. How fun!
Of course, this isn’t calling into the validity of the report. It’s likely true, and insiders earlier this month hinted the 49ers were exploring getting a third team involved to facilitate a deal. But it’s a wild set of sentences and would’ve been one of the strangest NFL deals in recent memory, one that would’ve drawn more parallels to the NBA than football.
Russini’s tweet doesn’t spell out what Pittsburgh would’ve given up beyond obviously extending Aiyuk to probably similar terms as the 4-year, $120 million deal he took with San Francisco. Presumably, a third-round pick, one the 49ers would’ve shipped straight to Denver, and almost certainly a second-round selection, too. And potentially more.
UPDATE (8:34 PM): Per SI’s Albert Breer, the deal was my guestimate. Pittsburgh would’ve sent second and third round picks to San Francisco, who would’ve taken that third to Denver for Sutton. Meaning, each side would’ve gotten.
Pittsburgh: Brandon Aiyuk
San Francisco: Courtland Sutton, 2nd round pick
Denver: 3rd round pick
Instead, the Steelers will face Sutton in Week 2 when they take on the Broncos in Denver.
As Russini and many others have reported throughout this process, the 49ers wanted a wide receiver in return in any trade for Aiyuk. A Super Bowl contender, the 49ers didn’t want to doom their hopes by trading away a critical piece without getting immediate help in return. Pittsburgh, unwilling to trade George Pickens and put themselves in the same shallow hole, had nothing to offer at receiver. Thus, trade talks stalled and sent Aiyuk and the 49ers to the table to hammer out a deal.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicated Aiyuk took the same contract the team has had on the table for weeks. But Aiyuk’s agent Ryan Williams fired back that the notion was “factually inaccurate.”
On a much smaller scale, the Broncos had their own contract hold-up with Courtland Sutton. But in late July, Denver gave him a raise and boosted his pay for 2024. Presumably, the 49ers offer to the Broncos came after the fact and Denver likely didn’t want to trade a receiver they just renegotiated with. Trading Sutton for a draft pick also would’ve left them terribly thin at wide receiver after trading Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns earlier in the offseason. For a rookie QB like Bo Nix, it could’ve hindered his season and development.
Instead of a bonkers three-way trade happening, in the end, nothing occurred. Everyone stayed in place. Aiyuk remains a 49er. Sutton remains a Bronco. And the Steelers remain searching.
