The Pittsburgh Steelers were far from making a massive trade at the NFL Draft. Marred in rumors for months, Pittsburgh has searched for the answer at wide receiver since trading Diontae Johnson, but nothing has come to fruition yet. However, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are at the top of the list of speculated trade candidates, and apparently, the team almost made a deal with one of San Francisco’s stars.
Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi floated that nugget while saying he expects Samuel and Aiyuk to stay with the 49ers this season. The next offseason is a different story, but the 49ers were open to making a deal during the NFL Draft, and the Steelers nearly made one with them.
“There was talk that at the draft that Pittsburgh thought they had made a trade,” Lombardi said on the GM Shuffle Podcast. “Whether it was for Deebo or whether it was for Aiyuk, I don’t know. But then things kind of fell apart late.”
This lines up with a previous report by Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, where he said the Steelers and 49ers talked about a trade for Samuel, but Pittsburgh would not meet San Francisco’s asking price on the trade. Instead, the 49ers selected Ricky Pearsall and had an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver, while the Steelers pivoted to select Roman Wilson to help fill one of the voids in the room.
Since the draft, the Steelers have reportedly called around the NFL and made inquiries to multiple teams. Yet, nothing has solidified out of those talks, with a trade market gone cold for the Steelers, who are continuing their eternal search for a second wide receiver this Summer.