Patriots, Browns Ahead of Steelers in Brandon Aiyuk Sweepstakes
The New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns appear to be ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade for San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk.
The Pittsburgh Steelers remain interested in trading for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but they may be significantly behind in terms of having what the 49ers are looking for to move on from their star wideout.
The 49ers have deals in place to trade Aiyuk to either the Cleveland Browns or New England Patriots, according to a report by Matt Maiocco NBC Sports.
Both teams have trade packages agreed in pencil with San Francisco centered on wide receivers going back to the 49ers, along with draft capital, in exchange for Aiuyk. The Browns would send wide receiver Amari Cooper, while the Pats would trade former 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne back to San Francisco.
The Steelers simply do not have a comparable wide receiver to trade to San Francisco, with veteran Van Jefferson being the next-best receiver on the team after fellow George Pickens. Jefferson had 209 receiving yards last year. Cooper had 1,250. Bourne had 406 in only eight games.
That doesn’t meant that all is lost in terms of the Steelers acquiring Aiyuk. One of those clubs will need to agree to a contract extension with Aiyuk before a trade can go through. Aiyuk has made it clear that he would prefer to play in Washington or Pittsburgh if not San Francisco, and may be unwilling to negotiate with Cleveland and/or New England.
The Steelers are among the teams that is negotiating contractually with Aiyuk, but they have not been able to make an offer that is acceptable to the 49ers at this time, and the Commanders are in the same boat.
So it seems that the 49ers are more comfortable working with the Browns and Patriots, and Aiyuk is more comfortable playing with the Steelers and Commanders, and once again, we’ll see which side blinks first.
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