On Sunday, FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer shared just how close the San Francisco 49ers came to trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. According to Glazer, the team was in the final stages of a trade deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the very day Aiyuk signed his contract extension.
Glazer explained that Aiyuk arrived early at the 49ers' facility that day and met with head coach Kyle Shanahan. Realizing Aiyuk wanted to stay with the team, Shanahan quickly tried to halt the trade discussions. However, he couldn't reach the front office because they were already on the phone with the Steelers.
"So Shanahan actually ran all the way upstairs, said, 'Hold this. Put a hold on these trade talks right now. Pittsburgh, we'll call you right back,'" Glazer continued. "They went down and talked to Aiyuk for about two hours. They said, 'Look, you have until the end of practice. We're either trading you to Pittsburgh today or you could take the deal that's been on the table. It's up to you, but you have until the end of practice.'"
Following the 49ers' 32-19 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night, Shanahan confirmed Glazer's report but didn't delve into specifics. When asked if the story was true, he responded, "Most of it, yeah."
Pressed for details, like how he ran upstairs to stop the trade, Shanahan said, "It was that I wanted to make sure he wasn't traded already. But no, that's how I kind of reported you guys throughout the whole time. You guys would ask me stuff about it, and I say, 'Anything could happen.' There were reports that we almost traded with some teams, and then we didn't. Some were true, some weren't, but all options were open."
Ultimately, Aiyuk stayed with the 49ers, and Shanahan was relieved by the outcome.
"It was a tough thing to kind of get to the final spot of it on both sides," Shanahan admitted. "And when it was all said and done, I'm glad that we had the patience. I'm glad that it worked out the way it did because I love having B.A. here."
Aiyuk finished Monday night's game with two catches for 28 yards against the Jets.
