The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of football’s most active teams during this offseason.
They have made some major moves to try and finally put a stop to their playoff losing streak.
They may still not be done making moves.
Since their WR2 position opened up, they have been regularly linked with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, but not much has come from those links yet.
It seems that is despite the fact that the team has seriously looked at making a move.
According to 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi, the Steelers have discussed trade packages for Aiyuk and those packages could include their first round pick in 2025.
Fillipponi says there’s just one problem. The 49ers haven’t shown interest in dealing Aiyuk yet.
The Latest on Aiyuk
Throughout the offseason, the 49ers have maintained the stance that they aren’t trading Aiyuk.
That was the team’s stance a month ago at the NFL Combine and remained the stance on April 22. During a press conference, 49ers GM John Lynch said the team was having “good discussions” with Aiyuk about a contract extension and they had no plans of trading him.
However, the 49ers keeping Aiyuk might not be as much of a certainty as Lynch has presented.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Silver has been hearing that an Aiyuk move is seen as a real possibility.
On April 23 he wrote, “All I know is that as of Monday night, when I posed the question to a 49ers source with direct knowledge of the team’s plans, the words I kept hearing were, ‘Anything’s possible.’ ”
Silver also added, “Earlier, I spoke to another team’s general manager who insisted that, because the 49ers and Aiyuk are far apart on negotiations for a lucrative contract extension, the fifth-year receiver is ‘very much in play.’ ”
There have also been hints dropped by Aiyuk throughout the offseason. He unfollowed the 49ers on social media and he also teased something big coming on the first day of the NFL Draft in an Instagram story on April 19.
Thursday will certainly be an interesting day for any fan hoping their team will land Aiyuk.
Fit With the Steelers
You could make the argument that Aiyuk is a good fit for a lot of teams around the NFL.
He is an elite route runner who racked up 75 catches for 1342 yards last season and was named an All-Pro.
That kind of talent isn’t just available everywhere.
Luckily for the Steelers, they do have one wide receiver who possesses some serious talent. George Pickens racked up 1140 yards during his second NFL season in 2023.
However, they don’t have much else to work with at the position. None of their other receivers reached 250 yards in 2023.
They clearly need to do something about the position.
Aiyuk might be more than they actually need. He’d be their WR1 if they traded for him and it could be difficult to support him and Pickens in an Arthur Smith offense that is expected to run frequently.
However, the Steelers have put themselves in a situation where the move would still make sense.
Whether they want to admit it or not, the Steelers have set themselves up to go all-in for the 2024 season.
The team made big moves to improve at quarterback this offseason, but didn’t do anything to secure the position beyond 2024.
They currently have three QBs playing on one-year deals.
Russell Wilson is 35. He isn’t their QB of the future.
Justin Fields definitely had great moments in Chicago, but hasn’t proven he can be a franchise QB.
Kyle Allen isn’t a starting QB.
They also have a couple of key players who are aging.
T.J. Watt will turn 30 this year.
Cameron Heyward will be 35 in May.
The team’s best chance to win might be right now while Watt is still in his prime, Heyward is still able to contribute, and the team has options at QB.
Trading for Aiyuk is the kind of “all-in” move that would maximize their chances to do that as it would help revitalize an offense that has been brutal to watch for the last two years.
If they could make that happen while giving up their first rounder in 2025 instead of 2024, the Steelers could set themselves to be really dangerous next season.
