Pittsburgh Steelers beat writers did a little victory dance after Brandon Aiyuk signed an extension with the San Francisco 49ers. Some more than others maintained all along that the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn’t trade for him, but their sources are limited. It seems those in the national media continue to paint a different picture about how close the trade was—about as close as the Devin Bush trade.
The Denver Broncos filled out a draft card with Bush’s name on it, prepared to draft him 10th overall, when the Steelers called to finalize a trade. While the Steelers were not on a literal clock with Brandon Aiyuk, time was still ticking. And according to Jay Glazer, they were on the phone at the finish line when Aiyuk took matters into his own hands
“Basically, [the 49ers] had cut it off. They made the decision to move on from Aiyuk. They were trading him to the Steelers that morning”, Glazer said, the morning being when Aiyuk signed his contract. “They’re on the phone, the 49ers front office, with the Steelers front office, and they’re completing the trade”.
The way Glazer tells it, Brandon Aiyuk showed up early to wait at Kyle Shanahan’s office. When Shanahan showed up, he said he wanted to talk. Shanahan phoned up to the front office, knowing the 49ers were about to trade Aiyuk to the Steelers. They didn’t answer.
“He knew they were making this trade with the Steelers. That’s when Kyle booked it upstairs”, Glazer said. “I think the phrase was, ‘Hey, give us a few minutes’, is what they told Omar Khan”. And then the few minutes became a few hours, the 49ers giving Aiyuk until the end of practice to make a decision.
Glazer adds that the 49ers had truly moved on, having pulled their offer to Aiyuk off the table. He maintains, as Adam Schefter and others reported, that Aiyuk signed the same offer presented to him weeks ago. And by all accounts, that offer was more than what the Steelers were prepared to give him, anyway.
Brandon Aiyuk, after stymying the trade to the Steelers, admitted he made the extension harder than he needed to. He still ultimately got what he wanted, or at least close to it, but he sure created unnecessary drama.
It is interesting, though, how far both sides took things. That the 49ers pulled their offer to Aiyuk is a compelling new wrinkle and reinforces the seriousness of the trade. Based on this timeline, there’s no other way to frame this than to say that Brandon Aiyuk himself blocked his being traded to the Steelers. Had he just sat and done nothing, he would have been out there Week 1 in the Black and Gold.
Instead, he caught two passes for 28 yards in the 49ers’ opener. Brandon Aiyuk drew five targets in that game, though, which is more than anyone on the Steelers not named George Pickens saw. Regardless of which team he chose, he would be 1-0 right now, so he still came out a winner.
