Brandon Aiyuk Reignites Steelers Trade Rumors

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk sparked speculation last month when he sent a message to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on X, stating “@CoachTomlin they saying we twins. What you think?”

49ers general manager John Lynch, who ran into Tomlin at the Michigan pro day, threw cold water on the trade rumors, stating nothing is happening there.

“I promise you, nothing’s going on there,” Lynch said of the trade rumors at the NFL owner’s meetings. “We’re actually talking to Brandon to try and figure something out. You know, we have a good history of working with the guys that we want to get done to get something done. So, can we do that? We’ll see. There’s a number of different directions that could go. But we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and what he is as a player. We want him to be a part of the Niners, so we’re going to work towards making that a reality.”

It’s almost mid-April and Aiyuk still doesn’t have a long-term deal with the 49ers. He seems like he’s getting fed up, too, as he unfollowed the team on Instagram.

Brandon Aiyuk is no longer following the 49ers on IG 📲 https://t.co/Sw0AwSRrFE pic.twitter.com/XaYkO2agoJ

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 12, 2024

During an appearance on the Nightcap Show with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson last month, Aiyuk revealed why he sent a message to Tomlin on X.

“Every day while your under contract talks, every day is like a different day. I said I’m not going to say anything and just wait until after my birthday (March 17), and I’m going to try to put a little bit more pressure on them (49ers). I wake up and they’re talking about another team again that I’m supposed to be in trade talks or whatever. So I just said let me, if everybody is saying this, and this, and that, let me go ahead and just put out my one little spots. I reverted back to Tomlin, we can have a little bit of fun with it. It’s all in fun, like I said we’re all professionals, it is what it is. But that’s where the Tomlin stuff came from.”

It seems like Aiyuk is trying to send another message to Lynch and the 49ers front office by unfollowing the team on Instagram.

With the Steelers hosting six wide receiver prospects on pre-draft visits, the buzz around the Steelers trading for a receiver has died off a bit but according to one NFL insider, the team is still trying their hand at landing one via trade.

“For me, there’s a piece of information we don’t have yet, which is do they trade for a wide receiver before the draft,” NFL Insider Jason La Canfora said on the In The Huddle podcast. “It would not surprise me if they did that tomorrow, if they did it the Wednesday before the draft. If they did it while they were on the clock, if they did it in the run up to the draft that Thursday, I know that they’re really trying to make something happen there.”