The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly have an agreement in place with the San Francisco 49ers to acquire wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk in a trade, and the terms of the deal and contract details are being hammered out, according to Andrew Fillipponi of 937 The Fan.
In the last day or so, the New England Patriots bowed out of contention for Brandon Aiyuk, as it became clear from their side that the wide receiver did not want to go there despite an offer in “excess of $28.5 million a year,” according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Anderson also mentioned that a league source said the belief within the Patriots is that Aiyuk's “preference” is to land with the Steelers.
Any trade of Aiyuk from the 49ers would result in Aiyuk signing an extension with his new team, which is why he is in some type of control here. Aiyuk can refuse to sign extensions with certain teams, like he did with the Patriots. It will be worth monitoring reports to see if this deal with the Steelers does cross the finish line.
Aiyuk could theoretically return to the 49ers this season, playing on the final year of his contract, and maybe hit free agency next offseason if he does not get franchise tagged. That is a bit of a risk, however, and a trade now followed by an extension with his new team would give him immediate security.
How did we get here with Steelers, Brandon Aiyuk?
Just a few days ago, it was reported that the Steelers were seemingly out of the running for Aiyuk as they did not want to meet the 49ers' trade demands. The reports were that the top two contenders were the Patriots and Cleveland Browns. Obviously, the Patriots are out after making an aggressive contract offer and rumored to be including Kendrick Bourne and draft picks in the trade.
The Browns have not been ruled out, as they reportedly would have been sending Amari Cooper and picks to the 49ers. It is unknown what type of contract they are offering, and the reemergence of the Steelers in the last day or so makes it seem very possible that Aiyuk prefers to go to Pittsburgh. Only he can truly answer that question, thoguh.
For the Steelers to land Aiyuk, they have to agree on trade compensation with the 49ers, and they might have already done that, given Fillipponi's report. Then, Pittsburgh will have to meet Aiyuk's contract demands as well. That is why this is a complicated deal. Only time will tell if this crosses the finish line and if Aiyuk will play with the Steelers this season.
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