“I’ll let you guys speculate on that,” said Mike Tomlin last year in August when the 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk was on the trade market. He was interested in the second-team All-Pro in 2023. But Kyle Shanahan put a stop to that. They signed a 4-year, $120 million extension with the receiver. But they suffered a major dent with his ACL injury in the week 7 game against the Chiefs. In the 2025 off-season, fans are waiting for an answer to Aiyuk’s future prospects.
After a below-par season as they failed to qualify for the playoffs, the Niners are open to trading their old players and bringing in some fresh energy. The Steelers are in the race. AGAIN!
Aiyuk would be a tremendous boost to the Steelers receiving team as they struggled to score. George Pickens was the top leader in 900 receiving yards with 59 receptions and 3 TDs. Pat Freiermuth had 653 receiving yards with 65 receptions and 7 TDs. Calvin Austin III came 3rd in the receiving game by 548 yards with 36 receptions and 4 TDs. Brandon Aiyuk would be a solid teammate.
As reported earlier,
Brandon Aiyuk is open for trade, and the Steelers have been in talks once again. https://t.co/HtSO8VaEBx
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) March 1, 2025
That’s Mike Tomlin’s primary goal—winning the Super Bowl. Building a strong offensive line is the first step toward achieving it. In their last four regular-season games, all losses, the Steelers failed to score more than 17 points. The same issue resurfaced in the wild-card game against the Ravens, where they lost 28-14.
But they’re not the only ones facing this challenge.
Commanders GM Adam Peters was with the 49ers in 2020 when they drafted Brandon Aiyuk. He tracked the receiver’s progress. But this year, they have already brought in Deebo Samuel from the Niners. The old friendship between Jayden Daniels and the WR from Arizona State in 2019 could also play a major role. All these factors could influence his trade heavily.
This is a very unusual activity for the 49ers . They signed a hefty extension with him in the last off-season. But the GM John Lynch is prepared for the shuffle.
49ers GM’s stance on the Brandon Aiyuk trade
There is a major factor in the 49ers being so open to trade. On the 3rd day of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, John Lynch said, “Since (head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) and I have been here, we’ve been the No. 2 cash-spending team. In the last four years, we’re the fourth-highest cash-spending team. So at some point, you have to reset a little bit, or at least recalibrate. You can’t just keep pressing the pedal.” Well, he is not wrong.
They also want to sign some young players. Brandon Aiyuk will turn 27 on March 17. And since these players also want out, it gives them the option of getting some extra compensation like they got the 5th round pick with the Commanders agreeing to pay Deebo Samuel in the trade.
The GM-HC duo is more focused on the QB Brock Purdy extension. They need more cap space for the QB and the coming draft. But the receiver’s void is a big one to fill. In 2022 and 2023, when he played the entire season, Aiyuk had 1000+ receiving yards in both. But the team has made up their mind. They want to move into the future with younger players. Overall, it looks fine.
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