Steelers fans must exercise patience in Brandon Aiyuk trade saga

Brandon Aiyuk has been dominating the news cycle as of late, and Steelers fans are along for the ride. In a rollercoaster of emotions, fans were optimistic Aiyuk was coming to Pittsburgh before hearing the Patriots and Browns both have offers on the table for the 49ers' star wide receiver and the Steelers dropped out of the race.

Don't give up hope. The Aiyuk trade saga isn't over.

Hours before Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reported New England and Cleveland had trade offers for Aiyuk, I shared this information from my source in an article on Still Curtain. While things seem to be moving quickly, they are unfolding much like I expected.

Though Aiyuk does not technically possess a 'no-trade' clause, he has an unofficial no-trade clause. How it works is very simple: he tells the Browns and Patriots he will not commit to signing a long-term contract extension if traded. This is the same move Antonio Brown pulled when the Steelers had a trade in place with the Buffalo Bills before Pittsburgh was forced to take a lesser deal to send him to Las Vegas.

Nobody said Aiyuk was going to be traded the moment his name popped back up in the news. This could take some time -- even up until the start of the season. However, we now have confirmation the 49ers permitted Aiyuk to seek a trade.

That's a step in the right direction.

New wrinkle suggests Steelers won't meet trade demands

The biggest curveball in all of this is the Steelers reportedly backing out of the race for Aiyuk. Though the star receiver had offers on the table from the Patriots and Browns, I was told Aiyuk wasn't interested in playing for either team.

From my source, Aiyuk's first choice was the Washington Commanders, who removed themselves from the running after failing to meet San Francisco's trade demands. But, from what I heard, the Pittsburgh Steelers are Aiyuk's second choice.

The latest report from NBC Sports suggests the Steelers 'declined to meet trade demands' and are 'no longer an option' to trade for Aiyuk. Omar Khan has shown that he's willing to get aggressive with trades, and calling the 49ers about a trade for a star receiver during the 2024 NFL Draft is proof of this.

But Khan is no fool. If the 49ers upped the asking price or if Aiyuk's party increased demands for a new contract, Pittsburgh isn't going to take the bait.

With Aiyuk's interest in joining the Steelers, Pittsburgh's front office is in prime position to execute a trade with the 49ers for Aiyuk. However, there has to be a breaking point in trade negotiations, and it's possible the two sides have reached a stalemate... for now.