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The Brandon Aiyuk saga continues on, with recent reports from Ian Rapoport pointing toward a potential San Francisco 49ers deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the young wide receiver. There are also reports that the 49ers have offered Aiyuk a big payday, but he has not accepted.
Star tight end George Kittle chimed in on the situation, highlighting what little positivity he could, saying:
“I love having him as a teammate, but the one benefit to him not practicing is a lot of younger guys are getting these reps,” Kittle said. “They’re getting important reps with the 1’s and [quarterback] Brock [Purdy] that they wouldn’t be getting otherwise. I’m not going to take probably any rookie over Brandon, I’m not going to do that.
“But the fact that now these young guys get these reps, it’s going to put them in a position to succeed if we can’t figure stuff out with Brandon, and they’ll be more ready for a season as opposed to just going with the 2’s and 3’s the whole time. It just kind of is what it is.”
Bleacher Report Calls Aiyuk a Big Winner
In what initially appeared as a case of the 49ers having the majority of the power, it has completely shifted as of late. With reports that Aiyuk had a deal on the table for nearly $32 million a year from the New England Patriots to offers from the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, the market for Aiyuk has gotten hot.
Add in the fact that Aiyuk has not accepted the 49ers’ latest multi-year offer and one can see that it is indeed Aiyuk holding all the cards, with Alex Kay of Bleacher Report writing, “Given negotiations with San Francisco’s brass restarted last week, Aiyuk now appears be in line to play for a legitimate Super Bowl threat in 2024—and possibly well beyond—even if he doesn’t net as much cash on his extension as he could have from another organization.”
Would Aiyuk to the Steelers Be a Good Move?
For Aiyuk, one would think the ability to win a Super Bowl would be of paramount importance, especially considering he’s going to earn in the neighborhood of that $30-$32 million range per year. Going to the Steelers doesn’t seem to move him closer to that goal than where he is with the 49ers.
The 26-year-old out of Reno, NV is coming off of a career-best 1,342 yards receiving, earning him a spot on the All-Pro Second Team. A potential move to the Steelers would be an interesting dynamic shift, as Aiyuk would lose the passing ability of Brock Purdy, instead receiving passes from Russell Wilson.
Wilson and the 2024 Steelers produced zero 1,000-yard receivers. They produced zero 900-yard receivers. They produced zero 800-yard receivers. In fact, the last 1,000-yard receiver that Wilson produced was Tyler Lockett in 2021 for the Seattle Seahawks. The last 1,000-yard receiver for the Broncos franchise also came in 2021 (Diontae Johnson, with Ben Roethlisberger at QB).
Details on a return for Aiyuk have not been reported, but the cap flexibility would give 49ers brass a much more palatable check to write for Purdy when his extension comes due.
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