The Pittsburgh Steelers have some big decisions to make for the outside receiver position opposite of George Pickens. Should they let Roman Wilson start there immediately? Would someone like Calvin Austin III or Van Jefferson be fine as a starter? Should they break the bank and trade for a high-end receiver option? With a little over a month before training camp begins, the Steelers may need to start picking up the pace on trade talks if they want to go down the latter route.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers General Manager Omar Khan picks up the phone in the team's war room during the 2023 NFL Draft weekend.
ESPN's Seth Walder joined Brian Batko on his Chipped Ham And Football podcast to talk about the state of the 2024 Steelers. They talked about how Steeler Nation wants the team to go out and get Brandon Aiyuk to fortify the receiving core, but the cost may not make the deal make sense.
"To trade draft capital for the right to pay someone is usually a mistake. If you were the Steelers right now, and you were to give a future [first-round pick] for the right to pay Aiyuk a market value deal, I would not do that. You're still not a Super Bowl contender with Brandon Aiyuk in 2024, and a first-round pick is a ton of value. We're talking about these in a financial sense, a first-round pick is a ton of value to then [acquire] the right to pay market price for someone. I think there are situations where that can make sense. I don't think it makes sense for Pittsburgh in this spot."
With Aiyuk's talent and age, the Steelers may end up in a bidding war with other receiver-needy teams if they want to trade for him. Aiyuk can bring a lot to a team in the passing game, but with only one year left on his rookie contract, it will cost a pretty penny to keep him beyond the 2024 season. There are a lot of variables to this potential trade.
Niners Wire - USA Today
Steelers' trade rumors with Brandon Aiyuk could start to heat back up with still no deal in sight.
How Could A Steelers Trade For Aiyuk Make Sense?
Right off the bat, there is a good chance that the 49ers won't be able to squeeze a first-round pick out of anyone. Aiyuk is holding out for a new contract, which tends to help lower the trade value for any player. He skipped mandatory minicamps, and there is no word on if he will be willing to report to training camp without some sort of extension.
Not only that, but Aiyuk has been extremely vocal on social media. On his TikTok account, he posted a video where he FaceTime'd Jayden Daniels, the rookie quarterback for the Washington Commanders, and inferred that the 49ers don't even want him to come back. If that is truly the case, the 49ers may have lost a lot of leverage in this scenario.
The Mercury News
Steelers' trade candidate Brandon Aiyuk makes a spectacular hurdle over an Eagles defender.
The Steelers currently have almost $16 million in cap space, so they could trade for Aiyuk and his roughly $14 million cap hit. They currently have over $78 million in cap space for 2025, so an extension shouldn't be too hard to negotiate as well. They could frontload the deal somewhat to make it work.
If the Steelers can negotiate to the point that they only give up a third-round pick, they could take that deal and have yet another high-end receiver for the next five years. A receiving core of Aiyuk, Pickens, and Wilson could be a deadly unit, especially if the Steelers can find their franchise quarterback of the future. Pittsburgh may not be Super Bowl contenders now, but the deal could get them much closer to that status.
What do you think about the idea that trading a first-round pick for Aiyuk would not make sense, as well as the leverage that the 49ers have? Let us know in the comments below.
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