Earlier Tuesday came news that the Steelers and 49ers have a deal in place for a Brandon Aiyuk trade. So, why hasn’t it happened yet?
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports the 49ers haven’t pulled the trigger on a trade because they aren’t that far apart on a deal to keep Aiyuk in San Francisco long term.
“What I’ve been told is that Brandon Aiyuk would prefer to stay with the 49ers, and has always preferred to stay with the 49ers, all things being equal,” Garafolo said. “Now, they haven’t been equal, but they did make that offer. In fact, both sides sent proposals within the last, I don’t know, couple days, week or so, and the 49ers’ number has gotten better than what it was previously.”
The 49ers would prefer to keep Aiyuk than trade him, which is why they restarted talks last week.
He caught 153 passes for 2,357 yards and 15 touchdowns the past two seasons.
Aiyuk, 26, has been staging a hold-in with the 49ers throughout training camp as he seeks a new contract. The No. 25 overall pick of the 2020 draft, Aiyuk is currently set to earn $14.124 million in guaranteed base salary on his fifth-year option in 2024.