The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a glaring hole on the roster, and that hole resides at the wide receiver position. Ever since the 2024 NFL Draft the Steelers have been linked with making a trade for a wide receiver. There have been rumors of Courtland Sutton, Deebo Samuel, but the most rumored player has been Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers.

We are fortunate to have a source inside the Steelers organization, and I can say with confidence the Steelers were extremely interested in acquiring a wide receiver, especially Aiyuk. However, there have always been hurdles to clear in the process. The biggest hurdle has been the 49ers asking price.

Nonetheless, Tuesday afternoon news broke of Aiyuk requesting a trade. The first report came from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.

Source: #49ers All-Pro WR Brandon Aiyuk has officially requested a trade after an offseason of unsuccessful attempts to reach an extension.

Despite a recent meeting, the Niners haven’t been willing to engage in negotiations since May so Aiyuk has respectfully asked out. pic.twitter.com/EWxYMvsHch

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 16, 2024

Soon after, ESPN’s Adam Schefter got in on the fray and added some additional information.

Sources: Other teams that have reached out and spoken to San Francisco have been told that the 49ers have no intention of trading disgruntled WR Brandon Ayiuk, who officially has requested a trade. 49ers open training camp next week. pic.twitter.com/vsVCoPvUr1

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 16, 2024

The Steelers haven’t been the only team who has shown interest in Aiyuk, but many fans saw the above reports and immediately jumped to conclusions. In their minds it was only a matter of time until a deal became official, right?

Considering we’ve had several sourced reports throughout the offseason which have been spot-on, I had several people on Twitter/X send me a message asking me if I had heard anything from our source with the report of Aiyuk officially wanting traded. So I reached out via text to our source, and here was his response:

“They aren’t even considering. Nothing has changed.”

What does “aren’t even considering” mean? You have to go back to one of our previous reports to understand what that means. The Steelers were turned off by Aiyuk’s behavior this offseason, and when you combine that with a steep asking price by San Francisco, it just didn’t make sense. To make matters worse, if a trade were accomplished, Aiyuk would be expecting a king’s ransom with a new contract.

Not ideal.

Does this mean a deal isn’t going to happen? I wouldn’t say it isn’t going to happen, but I will say it is unlikely at this time. Unless something changes on the 49ers end, it remains unlikely. Therefore, don’t be shocked why the reports of Aiyuk officially requesting a trade, which really means very little in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t move the needle much for the Steelers.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for training camp on the 24th.