Despite the 49ers' offseason stance that a trade was not an option, the team, reportedly frustrated with Aiyuk's actions, decided to entertain offers and allowed the receiver's agent to negotiate with other teams. Trade frameworks were reportedly in place with the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots. However, Aiyuk leveraged his limited power by informing those teams that he would not sign a deal with them, effectively squashing the trade talks.
Aiyuk has made it clear that he would like to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers or Washington Commanders. While the Commanders never seemed legitimate trade candidates, the Steelers have been linked to the receiver since before the draft. However, they could not offer a trade package enticing enough for the 49ers to part ways with Aiyuk.
As a result, San Francisco and Aiyuk reopened contract negotiations last week. The receiver and his agent met with head coach Kyle Shanahan and other key figures within the organization. The discussions allowed both sides to express "some open and candid thoughts."
When asked over the weekend about the meeting specifics, Shanahan bluntly stated, "I met with Brandon a bunch here since we started out camp, and I'm not going to get into any personal things between us."
Schefter stated, "Now it looks like the focus and emphasis is on keeping him in San Francisco and not trading him. But I would say that this has had many twists and turns to it, and until there's final resolution, you don't know. But the 49ers want to keep him. They don't want to trade him. They've never wanted to trade him. They've wanted to get a deal worked out with him. The deal has been elusive."
Schefter emphasized that the 49ers have been clear about their intentions. They want to keep Aiyuk, but not at the expense of the team's financial future. San Francisco believes it has presented a fair offer, reportedly in the range of $26 million annually. However, Aiyuk is likely seeking something closer to—or perhaps exceeding—$30 million annually, which has complicated negotiations.
"The player was the one who requested the trade," Schefter continued. "The player was the one who tweeted at [Steelers head coach] Mike Tomlin. The player was the one who called [Washington QB] Jayden Daniels and talked about going to the Commanders. The 49ers were not interested in doing those sorts of things. They were interested in getting a deal done because they wanted to keep the player."
Schefter indicates that Aiyuk's actions prompted the 49ers to consider trades before refocusing on getting a deal done.
"Now, they're at a point where they'd like to try to figure it out," Schefter explained. "That would be their goal, to keep him there in San Francisco, which, I think, really, has been a goal all along, despite the fact that, in a relationship, there are ups and downs with everything. And so they're trying to see if they get this deal worked out now, and if they can, obviously, he'll be staying, and he won't be going to Cleveland or New England or Pittsburgh or any of the teams that have had conversations with the 49ers.
"But that would be the team's preference right now, to keep him and to get that deal worked out. And that's what they're trying to do, and we'll see if they can get it done."