University of College / Shutterstock.com
Guess what? There’s more to say about Brandon Aiyuk this NFL offseason! He signed a big contract with the San Francisco 49ers, but there was almost a trade that could have changed everything. The trade idea involved the 49ers, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers, but it didn’t happen because Denver said no.
Crazy, right?
Dianna Russini of The Athletic shared that “the 49ers only were willing to trade Brandon Aiyuk if they could get a top-flight WR to replace him. They offered a third-round pick to Denver for Courtland Sutton, and then would’ve dealt Aiyuk to the Steelers, but the Broncos declined the offer.” The Steelers couldn’t participate because they lacked a suitable wide receiver.
Sutton would have been awesome in Kyle Shanahan’s offense at San Francisco. Even though Denver hasn’t had much success lately, there’s still hope they might surprise everyone. It all depends on rookie quarterback Bo Nix stepping up. I’m not entirely convinced he’s as good as Denver hopes.
I understand why Denver rejected the trade, but you can feel the frustration from the other teams involved.
The 49ers only were willing to trade Brandon Aiyuk if they could get a top-flight WR to replace him. They offered a third-round pick to Denver for Courtland Sutton, and then would’ve dealt Aiyuk to the Steelers, but the Broncos declined the offer.
So, he stays in SF.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 29, 2024
San Francisco still has its Super Bowl window open, but they must find a way to make it work already.
Denver Broncos threw a wrench into a potential Brandon Aiyuk trade
What I keep going back to is how stubborn both sides within the 49ers organization were over this contract dispute. John Lynch and his team wouldn’t budge on their offer or what they wanted in return for Aiyuk. In the end, they got their way while everyone else lost out. It looked bad for all parties.
The Steelers lose out because their No. 1 wide receiver is George Pickens, who lacks experience, and their backup options aren’t great either. As for Denver, keeping Sutton doesn’t drastically improve their chances this year; they’re likely to lose many games regardless. And then there’s San Francisco…
For some reason, it’s always been tough for them to extend star players under Lynch’s management. This team should be competing for Super Bowls but keeps falling short. They won the NFC last year and might do it again this season. But time is running out for this regime to win it all.
Keeping Aiyuk helps, but he caused so much drama during the offseason.
