Thursday was overall a quiet day for updates when it came to the ongoing trade saga involving 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. Most of the buzz still seems centered on a potential trade with the Steelers but the two sides appear to have hit a stalemate.
In an interview on The Rich Eisen Show, NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo says Pittsburgh has a contract offer on the table that Aiyuk would be happy with, although it’s less than some of the other offers he’s received from interested teams. Garafolo notes Aiyuk seems really bought in on the Steelers and CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones says it’s because he wants to play for HC Mike Tomlin.
However, the Steelers have not met the 49ers’ asking price in a trade and one of the hurdles is a lack of a receiver or other contributing player to send back who could help San Francisco as they pursue a Super Bowl in 2024, per Dianna Russini.
Garafolo says he’s heard the 49ers have begun “nosing around” the league to try and find a third partner in the trade who could give them a receiver to replace Aiyuk.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the 49ers have had those conversations,” Garafolo said. “I have been told that, and they’re nosing around the league. And the problem is that nobody’s really got an excess of receivers that can give you that caliber of guy that you’re looking for.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the sense from talking to other teams is that the 49ers aren’t rushing into a trade at this point in time. He points out Aiyuk has turned down a few really strong contract offers so far which hasn’t helped his leverage.
Aiyuk, 26, was a one-year starter at Arizona State and earned first-team All-Pac 12 in his final season. The 49ers traded up with the Vikings to select him with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $12,531,342 rookie contract that included a $6,673,703 signing bonus. The 49ers picked up his fifth-year option last year that will cost them $14,124,000 fully guaranteed for the 2024 season.
Aiyuk is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
In 2023, Aiyuk appeared in 16 games for the 49ers and caught 75 passes for 1,342 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.
For more on the developing situation with Aiyuk, check out our Latest On Brandon Aiyuk post.
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