Throughout the offseason, the stance from the San Francisco 49ers has been that the franchise would not countenance any trade of All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
It is now become increasingly clear that the 49ers are open to the idea of trading their leading receiver from each of the past two seasons.
After NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reported that it "appears more likely than ever that the 49ers are willing to make a trade", NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo revealed the Niners have had discussions with several teams about dealing their 2020 first-round pick .
Speaking on 'The Insiders', Pelissero refuted claims on social media that the 49ers had a deal in place with the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, he went on to add that the Niners have taken steps that make a trade seem increasingly likely.
"There’s no trade done to the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s no trade done to any other team," Pelissero said.
"There certainly have been trade discussions surrounding Brandon Aiyuk. In fact, certain other specific teams have been granted permission from the 49ers to speak with Aiyuk’s agent Ryan Williams and try to work out a contract that would have to be a part of any deal getting done.
"It allows Aiyuk and his agent to see exactly what the market would be for a contract some place else. It also does potentially allow them to get closer to finalizing a trade, but we’re not there just yet."
Allowing a player to speak with teams does not mean a trade will happen, but Garafolo's comments made it seem that the wind is very much blowing in that direction.
"There are multiple avenues in which this could go," said Garafolo. "Brandon Aiyuk has a huge say in it with regard to the contract part of it. What seems to be clear is that if and when he is traded, and I would say we’re closer to a trade than we are to him staying in San Francisco at this point, he is going to make more than the 49ers offered him.
"How much more? That might depend on the team that he winds up with because it sounds like some teams have been a little bit more aggressive than others with regard to the financials. Brandon Aiyuk, seems like he is going to be a rich man once he gives the green light and once the 49ers have the trade compensation in place with whatever team they’re going to trade him to."
But in a later post on X (formerly Twitter), Garafolo appeared to walk back those comments slightly.
"As fluid a situation as I can recall recently," Garafolo wrote. "Feels like we’re getting closer to a resolution with Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers but not there yet."
It's very non-committal wording from Garafolo, and that's probably intentional. Nobody has claimed the 49ers have given up on trying to re-sign Aiyuk, so with San Francisco still potentially making efforts to get that done and with the player looking at his trade options, there are a lot of moving parts.
Clarity on the situation might still be some time away, but it is at least clear that the Niners are no longer tied to the steadfast position on Aiyuk they once held.
Related: Exploring the packages that could lead the 49ers to accept a trade offer for All-Pro Brandon Aiyuk
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