Steelers' Big Mistake In March Cost Them Brandon Aiyuk

The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially lost out on the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes, as they refused to give the San Francisco 49ers what they truly desired in trade compensation. The 49ers were only willing to deal away their star receiver if they received another one in return. However, George Pickens is the only high-end receiver on Pittsburgh's roster, and they were not willing to part with him for an older, All-Pro option. The Steelers did have a way to make the deal happen, however. The only problem is that they gave that option up months ago. 

Chris Mueller went on his normal show on 93.7 The Fan to talk about the aftermath of the Aiyuk saga. He placed the blame on Omar Khan for going all-in on this move and failing to get anything done in the process. He brought up a move that the team made during the beginning of the offseason as the main reason why they couldn't get a deal done.

"If the reporting is to be believed that the Broncos were the fly in the ointment here, that they could have done a deal that sent a second and third [round pick] to San Francisco from Pittsburgh for [Brandon] Aiyuk, San Fran, in turn, flips the third to the Broncos for Courtland Sutton and the deal happens -- if that actually is true and Omar wanted it, he shouldn't have traded Diontae Johnson, because Diontae Johnson... probably would have bene enough for them in return to get the deal done."

The Steelers had no plans to keep Diontae Johnson around due to him allegedly being a problem in the locker room. On March 12th, they sent him and a seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round pick and Donte Jackson. Both players have one year left on their deal, and they will also be expected to be key contributors for at least the 2024 season. Was trading for a #2 cornerback with concerns about his game truly worth it for the Steelers? Time will tell.

The 49ers were reportedly willing to just give a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Courtland Sutton, who had only one 1,000-yard season in his career, and that was in 2019. Johnson also had just one season where he had over 1,000 yards, and that was in 2021. They had similar yardage totals in 2023, but Johnson played in three fewer games than Sutton. 

With that in mind, the 49ers would have likely accepted a deal to acquire Johnson for Aiyuk. The Steelers may have needed to throw in a mid-round pick to get it done, but if they wanted him bad enough, they should have kept Johnson and used him as trade bait. Instead, they have lots of questions about their receiving core heading into the 2024 season, and the guy they traded for back in March has questions about how good he truly is. 

What If The Steelers Never Traded Johnson To Carolina?

While hindsight is 20/20, it is still fair to say that the trade almost certainly gets done if Johnson doesn't go to Carolina. Aiyuk lands in Pittsburgh, Johnson goes to the Bay Area to try and win a Super Bowl, and questions about the receiver room quickly die off. Instead, the Steelers just have to hope that their new corner can help solidify a strong defense.

If they don't trade for Jackson, then there would still be questions about that cornerback spot. Would they miss out on one of their day two draft steals to fill in that spot? Would they just trust Cory Trice Jr. to stay healthy and play great? Trice has done well in camp and preseason, but the Steelers didn't know that would happen back in July.

What do you think about the Steelers losing out on Aiyuk due to giving up Johnson too early? Let us know in the comments.

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