The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be the favorites to complete a trade for San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk. However, while they have the motivation to finalize a deal, a prominent NFL insider revealed two major hurdles slowing down discussions.
There has been no bigger story in the NFL right now than the ongoing Brandon Aiyuk saga. The gifted wide receiver is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is looking to get a big pay raise now before risking injury in the 2024 season. However, the two sides made little progress on a contract extension during the offseason.
And it led to an actual trade request from Aiyuk last month. But many around the league felt the 49ers would not acquiesce to that demand. Yet, things seemed to shift over the last week as reports circulated that San Francisco was again taking offers for the pass catcher.
At first, the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns were rumored to be the favorites to get a deal done. But in recent days things have changed and the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to be leading the Aiyuk sweepstakes. And there were even reports a couple of days ago a deal was imminent. However, talks have seemingly stalled.
During an appearance this week on the Ohio sports radio show “Rothman and Ice,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter weighed in on the Aiyuk trade chase and explained two challenges for the Steelers to complete a deal.
Does Brandon Aiyuk prefer to stay with San Francisco 49ers instead of accepting trade to Pittsburgh Steelers?
“I think there’s a part of him that would still like to stay in San Francisco,” Schefter. That may explain the 26-year-old’s hesitancy to accept a move this week to the Patriots despite the framework of a deal reportedly being set up and New England’s willingness to give him the contract he wants.
Then there is the issue of compensation. It seems the 49ers want a stud receiver in return and that may be wear the Steelers are coming up short.
Brandon Aiyuk stats (2023): 75 catches, 1,342 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, 17.9 yards per catch
“Pittsburgh’s not giving up George Pickens for Brandon Aiyuk. Pittsburgh’s not giving up Pat Friermuth for Brandon Aiyuk. Certain things are not realistic,” Schefter said.
“I think that in any trade if you’re subtracting an elite wide receiver off a Super Bowl-caliber roster, you’d want to try to replace that player as much as you could. So, who could and would do that? Pittsburgh doesn’t have a receiver they can give to the Niners to make up for that.”