After everything that has transpired and the constant rumor mill, Brandon Aiyuk will stay with the San Francisco 49ers. It got ugly, and it got contentious between the star receiver of the organization who drafted him. Ultimately, Aiyuk bent in the negotiation process and signed a new deal. After months of the Steelers being in trade talks to acquire Aiyuk, all of that is now down the drain.
Ian Rapoport tweeted on the evening of August 29th that Aiyuk will be re-signing with the 49ers on a new four-year contract.
This was the same deal they offered a couple of weeks ago that he was not initially comfortable agreeing to. The Steelers were the only trade option, and a deal was set in place, but it all depended on what Aiyuk wanted to do.
Pittsburgh has been desperate for a starting caliber receiver to upgrade their current depth chart. Right now, it is only George Pickens who could be a legit starting option. Van Jefferson had a nice preseason, but it is unknown if he can translate that into regular-season action. There are a ton of question marks with their weapons on offense.
Aiyuk gave Omar Khan and the Steelers a taste of their own medicine
Everyone should be raising an eyebrow at Omar Khan, the Steelers General manager. He failed to get Aiyuk, which many started to believe could be the outcome despite many hanging onto hope. That might not be the main problem here, but he refused to find alternate options to fix their problems at receiver. A problem that he created for himself.
Diontae Johnson was traded earlier in the offseason for Donte Jackson and some draft picks. Many thought the Steelers would have a plan to replace Johnson and take some pressure off of Pickens. The black and gold did not have a replacement plan out there. They might have added guys through free agency and the draft, but none will replace what Johnson provided.
Khan has been highly praised for most of his moves since becoming the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of that praise is warranted. This neglect at the receiver position is something that should give him and the organization a black eye. They had no plan to replace Johnson and now they are without a proven starter and lack depth at receiver.
Everything seems like Aiyuk was their main target, and he should have been. The issue is that Khan put all his eggs in one basket even though it seemed like both the player and the 49ers wanted to find an extension rather than a trade. No matter what you hear, make no mistake about it, the Steelers wanted to upgrade their receiver position. Otherwise, they wouldn't have targeted Aiyuk so ferociously.
Unless Khan and the Steelers have some move that comes out of nowhere, this is the receiver group they will roll with. Mike Tomlin will say they have the guys necessary to win football games, but that is not the true belief since they tried hard to trade for Aiyuk. We will see what happens, but Pittsburgh is currently one Pickens' injury away from having almost no options at receiver.