The 2024 NFL season kicks off one week from today, and still this Brandon Aiyuk situation is unresolved. It seems like even the top NFL insiders are out of the loop at this point with very little information surfacing over the last few weeks.
Where things left off, the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly have an offer on the table that includes a second- and third-round pick in exchange for the talented receiver and the belief is that a contract would be done in a matter of seconds if the San Francisco 49ers pulled the trigger on trading Aiyuk. But they have been attempting to negotiate with him for a couple weeks now, and still no deal.
He showed up to their last preseason game in Las Vegas in street clothes, but that seemed like an improvement from their first road preseason game where he was absent. But the 49ers expected him to resume practicing on Wednesday and he did not show up. Same goes for Thursday.
It is unclear exactly what Aiyuk is after. It seems like he wants a balance between a competitive team and a high salary. Arguably, the Cleveland Browns could have been a decent landing spot for both of those things, but Aiyuk reportedly has no interest in going there.
Intrigue built back up this morning when the Browns restructured Deshaun Watson’s contract to have about $62 million available cap space. According to Adam Schefter, that is unrelated to the Aiyuk situation.
“They already were offering more money than Pittsburgh, more money than San Francisco,” Schefter said via a clip from today’s episode of the Pat McAfee Show on X. “They were offering that. That wasn’t the issue. The issue simply was that he preferred to go elsewhere.”
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported earlier this month that the Steelers had offered around $28 million per season. Other reports have indicated that the 49ers have upped their offer to be roughly around $30 million per year. Breer also reported that the Steelers came in slightly under the 49ers’ offer, which was also around the $28 million mark.
Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that Aiyuk was looking for around $30 million per season to put him in line with some of the other recent wide receiver contracts.
At this point, it seems a little confusing what exactly Aiyuk is after. CeeDee Lamb recently signed a contract worth about $34 million per season, so that could have further complicated matters. With Aiyuk refusing to practice, will that be the final straw for the 49ers to make a deal happen? Or could they go the route of suspending him and calling his bluff with more punitive measures?
Either way, hopefully we have a resolution soon.
