NFL Insider Reveals Brandon Aiyuk Trade That the 49ers Nearly Made

The San Francisco 49ers’ preference all along was to sign star receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a long-term contract extension.

They may have taken the long way but they finally got there on Thursday, agreeing to a four-year, $120 million deal that’ll keep Aiyuk in the Bay Area through 2028. But what would have happened if Aiyuk stood behind his trade request and refused to sign with the 49ers?

Well, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, San Francisco was eyeing a trade — well two, actually — that would have sent Aiyuk to one of his preferred teams and brought back a receiver to replace him.

“The 49ers only were willing to trade Brandon Aiyuk if they could get a top-flight WR to replace him,” Russini tweeted. “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.”

Pittsburgh had decline to include its 2025 first-round pick in a deal for Aiyuk, and the team had no receivers on its roster aside from George Pickens, who SF was told was off limits, of interest to the 49ers.

Sutton had been on the trade block for the last few years, but after the Broncos traded Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns this offseason, the 28-year-old became a much more vital part of Denver’s offense, especially with rookie Bo Nix named the team’s starter.

This was the third reported trade the 49ers were hashing out that ultimately fell through.

San Francisco allegedly had a trade in place with the New England Patriots centered around receiver Kendrick Bourne plus a couple draft picks that Aiyuk vetoed, and another with the Cleveland Browns that would have sent Amari Cooper, a second-round pick and another late-round pick to the 49ers for Aiyuk, but he also refused to sign an extension with them too.

Related: Brandon Aiyuk’s Agent Calls Out ESPN’s Adam Schefter Over Contract Report