Insider suggests Steelers could still be in Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes

Dianna Russini of The Athletic hinted on Monday morning that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will likely either play for San Francisco this season or finalize a summer move to the Pittsburgh Steelers amid his desire for a contract extension.

During the Monday evening edition of NFL Network's "The Insiders" program, reporter Mike Garafolo suggested that Steelers general manager Omar Khan could land Aiyuk's services as soon as Tuesday if he matches San Francisco's asking price.

"I believe based on every conversation I've had, if the 49ers say, 'Hey, Omar Khan, Pittsburgh Steelers. Deal done, we're sending him to you.' Boom. The deal's done in a matter of seconds," Garafolo said about a potential Aiyuk trade, as shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "And then the contract's done in a matter of minutes as well."

As of Tuesday morning, it was believed that the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns were all essentially out of the Aiyuk sweepstakes for different reasons.

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said during a Monday afternoon appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" that Aiyuk would "like to stay in San Francisco" and that the 49ers "don't wanna trade him." However, Schefter added that Aiyuk "wants to get paid" an amount he hasn't yet received from the 49ers while in the final year of his rookie contract.

Before Garafolo shared his update, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk mentioned that the Steelers are "offering no current players" to the 49ers for Aiyuk. San Francisco wants Week 1 contributors in return for Aiyuk coming off its Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, so Florio suggested the Niners could trade the 26-year-old to the Steelers for draft picks and then use those selections to acquire a different target for quarterback Brock Purdy.

It was unclear as of Tuesday morning if 49ers general manager John Lynch had any interest in completing such transactions between now and the team's regular-season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 9.

"They made an offer and it's pretty clear by the fact that nothing is done that the offer wasn't good enough for Brandon Aiyuk's liking," Garafolo added about contract negotiations between the player's camp and the 49ers.

Lynch has a history of waiting until early September to get deals done with star players, and he isn't willing to trade Aiyuk for the package of assets offered by the Steelers. Unless Aiyuk can convince Pittsburgh to change Lynch's mind, the 2020 first-round draft pick may have to choose between playing for San Francisco in a contract year and forfeiting money by sitting games out to protest his lack of an extension.