Any Leftover Steelers Hopes Of Trading For Brandon Aiyuk Crushed After New Report

There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers once the 2024 NFL Draft began at the end of April. The offensive line was expected to be a focus, but that's not the overall reason the team garnered attention in the lead-up to the big weekend. After trading Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, the organization created a glaring need when it came to someone playing opposite of George Pickens. Rumors swirled about a potential huge trade and the biggest name that continued to come up on social media and from reporters was San Francisco 49ers pass-catcher Brandon Aiyuk.

The prospect of bringing in a young and talented pass-catcher like Aiyuk is certainly attractive. A duo of him and Pickens could end up causing nightmares for opposing defenses. Unfortunately, while a trade is still possible if the 49ers can't meet Aiyuk's contract needs, the asking price may simply be way too high for the Steelers to make an offer.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, per NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco wide receiver is aiming for the stars when it comes to his upcoming contract as his rookie deal is set to expire.

"San Francisco with Brandon Aiyuk, they have been talking, they have been negotiating," Fowler said. "Nothing imminent as of yet, but there's certainly a chance. I was told the benchmark here is [Detroit Lions wide receiver] Amon-Ra St. Brown because he got $28 million [per] year on a four-year deal from Detroit. The goal as it appears is for Aiyuk to try to beat that."

Amon-Ra St. Brown received a four-year, $120 million deal from the Detroit Lions after proving himself throughout his career in the Motor City. Aiyuk has had an incredible start to his young career as well, hauling in 269 catches for 3,391 yards and 25 touchdowns. He truly earned his money in 2023, with a dominant campaign that was highlighted by 1,342 receiving yards.

Fowler continued discussing Aiyuk's situation and noted that while the expectation may not to be the league's top-paid wideout, he has earned the right to negotiate a massive contract.

"He doesn't need to be the highest paid in the league, but he's done enough and accomplished enough in that offense where he's probably going to need to be at that number or higher."

The Steelers are expected to gain some serious cap relief in the coming seasons, which would make paying a wide receiver over $20 million very possible, but that doesn't factor in extensions for players like Pat Freiermuth and Pickens. It's still not out of the question for Pittsburgh to target a receiver via trade, but someone like Courtland Sutton could make more sense given the price tag.

New quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will need targets to get the ball to and while Pickens and Freiermuth could be a starting point, the team is relying a lot on Roman Wilson to be an extremely productive rookie right out of the gate. For now, though, it appears as if acquiring Aiyuk specifically could be completely off of the table.

Steelers Need Better Offense In 2024 To Compete In AFC

With a healthy defense, Pittsburgh could absolutely make some noise in the AFC, even with a brutal schedule. The new offense under Arthur Smith should look drastically different than Matt Canada's old playbook. The running game will be a focus, with tight ends like Freiermuth seeing a lot more action. It's still concerning that a true number two wideout isn't on the roster, but the franchise has a plan and is sticking to it.

Do you think there is any chance the Steelers try to acquire Aiyuk? Let us know in the comments below!

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