Latest in Steelers, 49ers Brandon Aiyuk Trade Saga

The three-way standoff between the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk has entered a second week since trade talks started in earnest early in August.

The Steelers have believed for some time — at least since Steelers Now reported on Wednesday — that the Steelers have the framework of a deal in place with San Francisco to land Brandon Aiyuk.

The 49ers have yet to say yes to that trade offer from Omar Khan and company, reportedly all draft picks, and not including the Steelers’ 2025 first-round pick, but they haven’t said no yet, either.

The first thing San Francisco did when they told the Steelers to hold on was to call around the NFL to see what they could get if they immediately flipped the Steelers’ draft picks somewhere else. The 49ers don’t want draft picks. They’re trying to win a Super Bowl this year.

Though the Steelers have offered up guard James Daniels, San Francisco does not seem interested in any of the players that Khan and company have been willing to part with. The 49ers also sought teams to make it a rare three-way NFL trade, but didn’t find any takers.

The 49ers tried to find another team that would meet Aiyuk’s demands, but have also been unable to. San Francisco opened up Aiyuk to the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Steelers and Washington Commanders. Only the Steelers were able to meet Aiyuk’s asking price.

Faced with a less-than-ideal return, the 49ers circled back to Aiyuk, in an attempt to re-sign him instead of trading him despite a reportedly frayed relationship between Aiyuk and head coach Kyle Shanahan.

49ers wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel celebrate after a touchdown, Sept. 11, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

The Steelers took a bit of a risk in basically handng San Francisco the framework of a deal that Aiyuk would agree to. The 49ers could have taken one look at the Steelers’ agreement, and said, “that looks good to us,” and re-signed Aiyuk on the spot.

The fact that they haven’t yet seems to suggest that the 49ers are not willing to meet Aiyuk’s price in the same way the Steelers are, whether that’s in terms of the total contract amount or the structure of the guarantees.

So what happens now? The 49ers seem to be essentially out of good options. 

Aiyuk won’t agree to a trade to a team that has what the 49ers want. They don’t really want what the Steelers are offering, even if they’re acknowledging that the value is fair. They also can’t find sufficient value in the draft picks they’d be acquiring to meet their needs for 2024. The 49ers also can’t agree on a long-term contract with Aiyuk.

The last bullet in the gun for Niners general manager John Lynch might be to see if Aiyuk will agree to a short-term deal. The 49ers’ big cap issues lie in the future, not in 2024. They could increase the salary he is set to earn this season, sign away their right to use the franchise tag on him, and could possibly get him to agree to return for one last shot at a Super Bowl.

Otherwise, he may have little choice but to send Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, or take the big risk that he’d eventually buckle if they played hardball.

As far as the timeline of the deal, not much has changed from Pittsburgh’s end since last Wednesday, and it certainly feels like multiple media reports coming out on Tuesday that the Steelers feel they have a framework in place — as was reported here nearly a week ago — is a nudge from Khan and company to San Francisco to get things moving on a decision.

The 49ers have absolutely no reason to rush, especially if they feel as if they’re making a bad deal no matter what. But the Steelers would be greatly benefitted by getting Aiyuk into practice and a preseason game before rolling the ball out for the opener against Atlanta on Sept. 8.