The Pittsburgh Steelers could really use an established wide receiver opposite George Pickens. Right now, it’s a competition between players like Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, Quez Watkins, and rookie Roman Wilson for the starting spot. To say it’s less than ideal is putting it mildly. That’s why everyone is keeping an eye out for any signs of a trade for someone like Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers.
The timing would be good for the Steelers, after all. It would give Aiyuk time to get into the playbook before the start of training camp so when the Steelers get to Latrobe, he’s ready to go. But would a move happen right now? Former Steelers front office executive Doug Whaley doesn’t think so.
“Before the start of season is a better chance than before the start of camp,” Whaley said Wednesday morning during an appearance on the Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan. “Because now let’s put on your John Lynch hat. Why would you trade him now?… Wait until camp starts, there’s going to be injuries. And guess what? Price just went up. So that’s why from a Steeler standpoint, if you want him, you better get him now. ’cause you’re gonna have to pay later a lot more.”
Whaley makes a great point. If the 49ers do end up trading Aiyuk, it would make sense to wait until training camp and even preseason have started. Injuries are an unfortunate reality when it comes to football. If other teams suffer injuries to starting wide receivers, the market for Aiyuk is going to go up.
So the Steelers would be wise to try to secure a deal before that happens. However, the 49ers aren’t going to want to do that unless the Steelers blow them away with a trade package. That’s the problem with trades; it takes two to tango and both sides are trying to dance to different music.
But what about the release of WR Denzel Mims? Why release him after mandatory minicamp and before training camp? Couldn’t it mean that a deal is imminent?
“Releasing a player, that’s clerical,” Whaley said. “Call ’em up, you’re gone. You don’t need to release him to get ready to add another player.”
So Steelers fans can keep refreshing Twitter/X all they want. But Whaley doesn’t think a deal is going to be happening anytime soon. And ESPN’s Seth Walder questions if a deal for Aiyuk is even the right thing for the Steelers. So who knows what will happen?
