The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly seeking the services of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk amid contract drama with the 49ers.
Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado reported that the Steelers are “trying” to acquire Aiyuk, and Allbright posted a screenshot of the text message from a source via X, formerly Twitter on April 13.
The text conversation included “Steelers trying to get Aiyuk for Russ” and “that would be a huge get opposite Pickens” in response. Pittsburgh traded for quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason, and the Steelers already have one star receiver in George Pickens.
It’s not the first time Aiyuk surfaced as a target for the Steelers. Aiyuk reacted to the first round of trade rumors with the Steelers in March on social media. He posted to Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin‘s X profile with “they saying we twins” and “what you think” followed by an eyeballs emoji.
Aiyuk called it “all in fun” during “The NightCap” podcast with Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe on March 28. The resemblance between Tomlin and Aiyuk made waves on social media amid the initial trade rumors.
“I wake up and they’re talking about another team that they got me [linked] to trade talks or whatever,” Aiyuk said.
“So I just said let me — if everyone is saying this, and, this and that — let me go ahead and just put out one of my little spots. I reverted back to Tomlin, we can have a little bit of fun with it. It’s all in fun, like I said we’re all professionals, it is what it is. But that’s where the Tomlin stuff came from.”
Since the Super Bowl ended, Aiyuk has been persistent on social media in pursuit of a new contract with the 49ers. It began with Instagram posts from his girlfriend and an old junior college teammate shortly after the Super Bowl, and it escalated when Aiyuk unfollowed the 49ers on Instagram on April 12.
Aiyuk has a fifth-year option of $14.12 million with the 49ers — well below Spotrac’s market value of $24 million annually for Aiyuk’s services. Last season, Aiyuk tallied 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
Aiyuk spoke adamantly that he wants a bigger contract when he went on the “The NightCap” podcast. While Aiyuk acknowledged the efforts in the contract talks, he also drew a line.
“If they don’t see the worth in that, that’s all it is. It ain’t nothing else besides that. I can’t get into it. We got professionals working on both sides, so hopefully, we can come to a professional agreement to continue playing professional football,” Aiyuk said.
Niners general manager John Lynch said the team won’t trade Aiyuk during an NFL owners meeting press conference on March 26. However, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on March 30 that Aiyuk and the 49ers are “not close” to a deal, which means a trade could be inevitable.
“We’re not close, and they have made a recent run at it from my understanding,” Garafolo said during “NFL Total Access” on March 30.
“It’s not like they haven’t had any discussions. Basically, it’s a little bit of a standoff right now.”
