Pittsburgh Steelers 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.