Brandon Aiyuk's potential move could turn into 3-team trade with 49ers and Steelers, suggests NFL insider
Brandon Aiyuk has dominated the headlines the entire offseason. His stance on staying with the San Francisco 49ers and then requesting a trade caught many off guard. However, one NFL insider suggests that the biggest shock out of this saga is yet to come.
The 49ers and the wide receiver were unable to agree on a contract extension as his rookie deal nears its end. After his trade request, many suitors were in line to scoop up Aiyuk, with the Pittsburgh Steelers wanting to sign him before anyone else.
Regarding his potential move, NFL insider Diana Rossini highlighted a possible scenario on her podcast, "Scoop City" on Tuesday:
“There are thoughts that maybe this could be a three-team trade as well. Because the San Francisco 49ers are open to trading Brandon Aiyuk. But in order to trade Brandon Aiyuk, they would like to get a premier player back, a receiver, specifically.”
As per The Athletic, Pittsburgh has not put a satisfactory return offer on the table. This leads Rossini to believe that San Francisco could come up with an innovative way to bypass that:
“Pittsburgh is not giving that up. Okay, so where are they going to get one? Well, maybe there's a world where the 49ers can trade Aiyuk to the Pittsburgh Steelers, get some trade compensation back at some draft picks, and then go use some of those picks to trade with another team to get the receiver that they're looking for.” (Timestamp: 10:41 – 11:24)
49ers tight end not stressed over trade of Brandon Aiyuk
While San Francisco is struggling with injuries in its lineup, losing an ace player like Brandon Aiyuk would hurt the team even more. George Kittle, during his appearance on "The TK Show" podcast, shared his thoughts on the situation:
"It doesn't really affect me at all. I'm just like, ‘Well, hopefully it pans out the way that the best possible way for both Brandon and the 49ers.’ Whatever happens, happens, because I have zero control over it.”
Several experts agree that Aiyuk’s future is potentially away from the 49ers. However, the picks or players that the team might receive in exchange for him remain undecided.