The drama of Brandon Aiyuk finally came to a merciful ending on Thursday. The San Francisco 49ers and Aiyuk agreed on a $120 million contract extension meaning Aiyuk is not being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers or anyone else.
According to Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, this is exactly what the Steelers expected all along. According to Dulac, the Steelers weren’t surprised the Niners got a deal done and this was what they expected to happen.
This is a really curious point of view to take. The Steelers traded away Diontae Johnson at the beginning of free agency and made no real effort to replace him. We assumed this was all the long game to eventually land Aiyuk.
Steelers not surprised 49ers re-signed Brandon Aiyuk. It’s what they expected all along.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) August 29, 2024
If we follow this logic, the Steelers never planned to actually trade for Aiyuk and they are content with the talent they have at wide receiver now. This doesn’t make much sense at all given the sheer volume of credible sources who reported on the Steelers interest in getting Aiyuk.
