The Jacksonville Jaguars were reportedly interested in trading for star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. However, the San Francisco 49ers' asking price of the No. 17 overall pick plus a player was seemingly too high for the team.
Now, it appears another AFC team might be trying to pry Aiyuk away from the West Coast. Andrew Fillipponi of Pittsburgh-area radio station 93.7 The Fan reports that the Steelers are looking to work out a deal with the 49ers for the receiver.
"Sources: The Steelers have looked into 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk," Fillipponi wrote on social media. "He's entering the last year of his contract. Steelers would have to execute a sign and trade. But they've shown interest."
Sources: The Steelers have looked into 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. He's entering the last year of his contract. Steelers would have to execute a sign and trade. But they've shown interest. pic.twitter.com/Ftef5j2Ddr
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) March 19, 2024
Aiyuk is coming off a career season. His team-leading 1,342 receiving yards were a career-high and marked his second consecutive season surpassing the 1,000-yard mark.
Entering his fifth NFL season, Aiyuk is currently slated to play on a team-exercised fifth-year option that guarantees the receiver a $14.12 million salary in 2024. While the 49ers have always been willing to listen to offers for their players, the team has expressed a strong desire to work out a long-term deal with their star player before he retakes the field.
"We have some challenges," Lynch said of the impending contract negotiations while speaking to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We have a lot of good players, a lot of good players who we've rewarded. Brandon's one that we think incredibly highly of, one of my favorite guys around our building, the way he approaches the game. He's a competitor. He's a warrior. He plays with such physicality, also with grace, in the way some of the positions his body can get into.
"And then he's got a flair for making plays when [they] matter most, and he's served us very well as a franchise. And I think we've got a nice track record of extending the players that are important to us, and Brandon's a guy we want to keep around for a long time."
San Francisco drafted Aiyuk out of Arizona State with the No. 25 overall pick in 2020.