New England Patriots News & Rumors

After an eventful week, the 49ers‘ top outside receiver/rumor machine remains on the NFC champions’ roster. Brandon Aiyuk‘s hold-in continues, and connections to teams have slowed a bit.

Details on the Patriots and Browns’ offers have emerged, and SI.com’s Albert Breer now sheds some light on where the Steelers have gone for the fifth-year wideout. Pittsburgh has offered a deal around $28MM per year. Aiyuk was believed to be less than satisfied with Pittsburgh’s proposal, and San Francisco has also expressed hesitancy regarding a Steelers trade package.

An early report had the Patriots’ offer beyond $28.5MM, but a subsequent assessment of New England’s proposal placed it in the $32MM-AAV area. Aiyuk hesitancy about joining the Patriots is interesting, given the offer. It is also unclear what the Pats were proposing the 49ers in trades, though Breer notes the 49ers asked for Kendrick Bourne. That is rather interesting since Bourne began his career in San Francisco, though he is obviously not on Aiyuk’s level and is coming off an ACL tear.

The Browns are believed to have offered Amari Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks. One of last week’s many Aiyuk storylines indicated he nixed a deal to Cleveland. Still, this would be a fascinating swap, seeing as Cleveland traded for another 2020 first-round wideout (Jerry Jeudy) months ago and gave him an extension. Cooper remains on his Cowboys-constructed contract, albeit with some incentives for 2024, and would satisfy a 49ers desire to acquire immediate receiving help if they are to actually trade Aiyuk.

Letting Aiyuk’s camp speak with teams doubled as a 49ers fact-finding mission, and while the Steelers may still be in this, Breer predicts this saga ends with a San Francisco deal finally coming to fruition. As of midsummer, the 49ers were believed to be in the $26-$27MM-per-year range. The Steelers’ approximate $28MM-per-year proposal would place Aiyuk around the point Jaylen Waddle settled at this offseason. Aiyuk has long been tied to wanting an AAV around the $30MM Amon-Ra St. Brown number, but the lack of interest in New England also effectively confirms he wants to join a team with fewer questions on offense.

The Dolphins gave Waddle a $28.25MM-AAV accord complete with $76MM guaranteed. The Steelers have not been big on multiyear guarantees for non-quarterbacks (or T.J. Watt), with signing bonuses doing much of the post-Year 1 work in most of the old-school franchise’s contracts. It would not surprise if that component is producing Aiyuk’s hesitancy regarding a Steelers offer. Of course, the 49ers would need to sign off on a deal to move him. And the Steelers, barring a counterproductive George Pickens inclusion, do not have a receiver to send over.

As of late last week, the Steelers were content to let the chips fall. Breer adds they do not want to include a player in their offer. An increased offer does not sound likely, though nothing can be completely ruled out right now. Following a work week of trade talks, the 49ers ramped up their extension effort — after another meeting with the player.

Months into this process, we continue to wait. The 49ers completed extensions with George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa after training camp started. The sides now have more information as to what Aiyuk’s market is. That should provide a pathway to a deal or a trade — at long last.

For a while, the hold in-trade demand situation with the 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk looked a lot like those of his teammates Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa is prior years. With Samuel and Bosa, there seemed to be a lot of bluffs and posturing before a deal ultimately got done to keep the stars in place. Aiyuk’s situation has clearly become a different monster, especially within the media, requiring an update mere hours after our latest post.

Disappointingly, the latest updates do not seem to indicate any more imminence in this situation coming to a close but, instead, provide a bit of additional information to previous reports.

For instance, we have seen the rumors connecting Aiyuk to the Patriots come and go already. Initial reports told us that the contract offer that would accompany a trade for Aiyuk would eclipse $28MM per year, a respectable amount but not one that challenges the top five contracts at the position. According to a combined report from Dianna Russini, Matt Barrows, and David Lombardi of The Athletic, the Patriots’ offer was actually potentially worth up to $32MM per year, matching Eagles wideout A.J. Brown as the second-highest paid receiver behind Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. Still, it’s become clear that a deal to New England is unlikely.

The Steelers, on the other hand, seem to have disappointed both the 49ers and Aiyuk with their offer, though Aiyuk doesn’t seem too turned off. The offer was reportedly less than what San Francisco was offering long-term, but Aiyuk still seems to prefer them as a destination. Pittsburgh doesn’t seem to feel pressed to improve their offer, though. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Steelers have made their offer and intentions clear and are willing to let the pieces fall as they may. It’s been reported that the Niners prefer to receive a wide receiver back in any trade separating them from Aiyuk, and Pittsburgh certainly isn’t able to meet that request. Still, Aiyuk has reportedly made it clear that Pittsburgh is his preferred trade destination.

The Steelers aren’t the only preference, though. Garafolo also reported today that the 49ers asked Aiyuk to make a list of teams he would like to play for, and San Francisco was reportedly on that list. Developments like that could point to why negotiations to extend Aiyuk have reupped in San Francisco. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that the 49ers have been working to raise their offer, after initially starting low.

For what it’s worth, Aiyuk himself weighed in on the situation, replying to a post on Instagram quoting Pelissero and saying, “It’s two options out there, pick one and stop dropping reports. Simple.” It’s hard to say what those two options are, exactly, but it can be ventured that the two options in play are an extension with the 49ers and a trade to and extension in Pittsburgh.

In on Calvin Ridley until the end of his free agency sweepstakes, the Patriots have been connected to both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. New England’s Aiyuk effort became rather serious, though as of midday Wednesday, it does not look like the disgruntled 49er will end up a Patriot.

This is not due to lack of desire on the Pats’ part. The team was prepared to give Aiyuk an extension worth more than $28.5MM per year, according to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson. Aiyuk does not hold a no-trade clause, but a team willing to trade assets for the second-team All-Pro will want the pass catcher committed. A report Tuesday night revealed Aiyuk was not sold on the Patriots, and Anderson also indicates the team believes this is the case.

The Steelers do not make a habit of giving outside receiver hires key roles, preferring a draft-and-develop model that has produced sustained success. But the team has been more open to outside additions under third-year GM Omar Khan. Questions outside of George Pickens persist at wideout for the Steelers, who are spending next to nothing at quarterback following the acquisitions of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. This expands to all positions on offense, essentially, with no eight-figure-per-year payment allocated to a Pittsburgh offensive player.

No deal is in place with Pittsburgh, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets, though the sides continue to hold discussions.

Aiyuk, 26, has held in at 49ers training camp. This comes after months of negotiations did not lead to much (if any) progress. Aiyuk has been tied to wanting a deal in step with Amon-Ra St. Brown‘s $30.01MM-per-year contract and guarantees on the A.J. Brown level. Only Justin Jefferson‘s $110MM guaranteed tops Brown’s number ($84MM). Aiyuk has not shown himself to be in these players’ class just yet, ranking 17th in receiving yards since his 2020 NFL entrance. Though, the 49ers’ target tree has not allowed for WR1-level volume. Aiyuk still managed 1,342 receiving yards on 105 targets last season, and he wants to be paid like a high-end No. 1 weapon.

A Monday report indicated the Patriots and Browns had established Aiyuk trade framework with the 49ers, but multiple suitors being in the mix gives the defending NFC champions leverage. New England also asked about Aiyuk earlier this offseason. Aiyuk’s manageable fifth-year option salary ($14.12MM) would stand to buy the 49ers time, and they would have the option of franchise-tagging him in 2025. That number could hit $25MM, and San Francisco is already projected to be nearly $40MM over the 2025 cap. While that would not make an Aiyuk tag a non-starter, it certainly appears the 49ers are more willing to discuss a deal — as they were during the draft — compared to their stance earlier this summer.

The Titans outbid the Pats for Ridley, who signed a four-year deal worth $92MM in free agency. New England, amid a spree of re-signings and extensions this offseason, kept Kendrick Bourne and used a second-round pick on Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk. These two join Demario Douglas as the Pats’ top options at receiver, though JuJu Smith-Schuster remains on the team for the time being. De facto GM Eliot Wolf has shown a far greater willingness to pay for talent compared to Bill Belichick, and this Aiyuk offer goes along with this organizational change.

Trading Aiyuk without a known replacement — Ricky Pearsall‘s rookie-year form notwithstanding — would inject considerable risk into San Francisco’s equation. The team has Brock Purdy on what almost definitely will be his final season on a rookie contract, and a host of defensive talent is due for free agency in 2025. Losing Aiyuk now would wound a 49ers team perennially on the championship doorstep. It would also reveal the NFC West team taking a hardline stance on Aiyuk’s value, which it is believed to have pegged in the $26-$27MM-per-year range.

While the 49ers solved Samuel’s trade request/hold-in drama with a $23.85MM-per-year extension, they have encountered tougher sledding in the Aiyuk negotiations — as the WR market has boomed once again. If Aiyuk is dealt, Samuel suddenly would appear more likely to stay. An Aiyuk extension could well lead the older, more versatile player out of town in 2025. We continue to wait on whether the 49ers will pull the trigger here, as Aiyuk’s hold-in will soon pass the two-week point.