Florio: 49ers Would Love to Unload Brandon Aiyuk onto Steelers
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks the San Francisco 49ers would love to revisit a Brandon Aiyuk trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a very similar position as a year ago in need of a No. 2 wide receiver after trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes that could result in them revisiting a trade for Brandon Aiyuk with the San Francisco 49ers, who may be more willing to do business this time around.
“The 49ers would love to unload Brandon Aiyuk’s contract on the Steelers,” Florio said on Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan.
The Steelers spent a months-long pursuit of Aiyuk last offseason before he ultimately signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with San Francisco.
However, the 49ers may be regretting that decision with Aiyuk coming off a very disappointing 2024 season, during which he had just 25 catches for 374 yards and zero touchdowns before tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 7.
San Francisco has also already begun to reshape its aging roster, moving on from veterans like wide receiver Deebo Samuel and preparing to give quarterback Brock Purdy a massive contract extension.
That doesn’t mean executing a trade for Aiyuk would be easy, though. Aiyuk already earned his $22.85 million roster bonus this offseason, which makes trading him very difficult.
Pittsburgh has since invested a lot into the position, too, acquiring wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks and giving him a massive five-year, $150 million deal.
The Steelers must add to their wide receiver room if they hope to compete in 2025, though. Outside of Metcalf, it is quite underwhelming — Calvin Austin III, Robert Woods, Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek, Brandon Johnson, Lance McCutcheon and Roc Taylor.
It’s also unclear what the 49ers asking price would be for Aiyuk, but if it’s discounted from a year ago, it wouldn’t hurt Pittsburgh to at least entertain the idea once again.
Aiyuk, 27, has recorded 294 catches for 4,305 yards and 25 touchdowns in his five-year NFL career.