PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a holding pattern as they await a decision from Brandon Aiyuk. As the 26-year-old star wide receiver weighs his options between signing a contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers or doing so with Pittsburgh via a trade, one analyst believes the Steelers need to explore other external options should they lose out on Aiyuk.
On Wednesday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and NBC Sports joined Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller of 93.7 The Fan to discuss the Aiyuk sweepstakes and the potential fallout that could come as a result of him opting to stick with the Niners over the Steelers.
Florio was of the opinion that any trade partner of the Steelers would be dealing from the bottom of its depth chart with almost two weeks remaining before teams have to set their 53-man roster. Thus, he believes Pittsburgh would be wise to adopt a wait-and-see approach with the hope that a premier talent could hit the block before the start of the regular season.
“What’ll happen is, if you have a team that has an embarrasment of riches at the position, they’re gonna try to trade the guy that they would otherwise cut,” Florio said. “It could be a trade option emerges between now and when the rosters are slashed down to 53. You just wait, and you see, and you hope.”
The Steelers currently feature George Pickens as their No. 1 receiver, though they lack another top weapon beside him at the position. With Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III pencilled in as starters, a dynamic threat like Aiyuk would raise the ceiling of the team’s offense under new coordinator Arthur Smith.
Florio also believes Pittsburgh would be wise to target a receiver that has prior experience playing under Smith, who was the Tennessee Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020 before joining the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach from 2021 to 2023.
“Ideally, you look around for any player out there that has experience playing under Arthur Smith,” Florio said. “That makes the transition easier. You’ve got to find guys who can come in and play right away. It doesn’t matter how good you are in the abstract. It matters how quickly you can get up to speed with this offense and make a difference.”
The clock is ticking with just over three weeks remaining before the Steelers kick off their Week One matchup against the Falcons. Should Pittsburgh consummate a deal with San Francisco for Aiyuk in the near future, it would instantly have one of the best receiver duos in the NFL while simultaneously filling one of the largest holes on the roster. If they lose out on him, however, they would need to act fast to supplement that position group.