It’s been an eventful couple of days, as rumors continue to swirl around the Pittsburgh Steelers pursuit of All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who has requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. Sources close to the Steelers have told Steelers Now that the team is confident that they have the framework in place to land Aiyuk after pursuing the 26-year old since the free agency period back in March.
The Arizona State product is coming off a breakout season of over 1,300 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for the leagues most explosive offensive attack. He is entering the final, option year of his rookie contract, but has requested a trade from San Francisco after negotiations on a contract extension broke down early this offseason.
As SN reported on Tuesday, the Steelers have been willing to include a starter in addition to draft capital in order to make a deal work. This lengthy process has been difficult because while his relationship with the Niners organization is fractured, but they are still searching for somewhat adequate compensation in return for letting him go to his preferred destination: Pittsburgh. Aiyuk is set to play on the fifth-year option, but an extension would need to be in place in order to facilitate a trade, which has not been the sticking point in negotiations.
The reason that a deal has not yet been made, despite optimism that the Steelers have a package that the 49ers will accept, is not immediately clear, and until there is a done deal, anything can still happen.
This situation is very fluid from a trade compensation front, but there is legitimate optimism, at least from the Pittsburgh perspective, that this deal is approaching the finish line.
Alan Saunders contributed to this report.