Steelers & Brandon Aiyuk Have Agreement, But 49ers Reluctant To Trade

The Brandon Aiyuk circus continues for another week.

Shortly after the San Francisco 49ers allowed Aiyuk to seek a trade, the Pittsburgh Steelers created an agreement with the WR on a contract and a trade. However, the 49ers reversed course and engaged in long-term contract extension talks with the 26-year-old. Now, all three sides are at a standstill, with the regular season rapidly approaching, and Aiyuk is still not participating in the 49ers training camp.

Aiyuk has one year remaining on his rookie deal, paying him just south of $15 million. With the explosion of the wide receiver market, the Arizona State alum believes he can cash in. He almost earned a new contract from the New England Patriots, but he nixed that deal, not wanting to be a part of a long rebuild. The Cleveland Browns are also rumored to be interested in Aiyuk, but they seem out of the running compared to their other AFC rivals.

The Steelers are beginning a new era under center, signing Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields in the offseason. Head coach Mike Tomlin wants to give the new QB another weapon besides WR George Pickens to balance the offense.

Meanwhile, the 49ers seemed disinterested in signing Aiyuk to an extension until this past week. The team locked down multiple offensive stars, such as RB Christain McCaffery, WR Deebo Samuel, and TE George Kittle, leaving little cap space to re-sign Aiyuk. But, after months of trade rumors and a war of words, including Aiyuk making publically clear he wants to play with former teammate Jayden Daniels with the Washington Commanders, the two sides are mending fences.

Aiyuk led the 49ers in receiving yards last season with 1,342, along with the most targets with 105, 15 more than the next player. San Francisco took him in the 1st round with the 25th pick during the 2020 draft. General manager John Lynch used his first-round pick on WR Ricky Pearsall in case Aiyuk left town.

Article by Jordan Silversmith