The Broncos may have overtaken the Browns in terms of Brandon Aiyuk relevance, as their decision to turn down a 49ers offer for Courtland Sutton may well have triggered a chain reaction that cost the Steelers their chance at the All-Pro wide receiver.
Weeks before Aiyuk finally accepted San Francisco’s $30MM-per-year offer, he is believed to have received the same AAV proposal from the Browns, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (video link). The Browns did not last too long as an Aiyuk suitor, but as the 49ers let the contract-seeking wideout speak with other teams to gauge his market, Cleveland’s offer outflanked Pittsburgh’s.
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Not reported to have submitted Aiyuk an extension offer worth more than $28MM per year, the Steelers indeed checked in south of that point. They were at $27.7MM per annum, Rapoport adds. That would have placed Aiyuk behind Jaylen Waddle and ahead of D.J. Moore. When it all wrapped, Aiyuk surpassed both on a frontloaded agreement. He is now the NFL’s sixth $30MM-AAV receiver.
Browns-49ers talks occurred in early August, at the same point the player’s camp was negotiating with the Patriots and Steelers. Trade framework with both Cleveland and New England emerged. Aiyuk’s AFC negotiations still led him back to the table with the 49ers, but not before the Browns had made an interesting offer.
Cleveland is believed to have dangled Amari Cooper, along with second- and fifth-round picks, for Aiyuk. With Cooper in a contract year, the Browns were planning to have Aiyuk at $30MM per annum and Jerry Jeudy at $17.5MM a year. It will be interesting to see if Cooper’s camp, which could not secure an extension this offseason, uses this Aiyuk offer in future negotiations. With the Browns probably not eager to acquire a player who did not want to land in Cleveland, the trade ended up on the cutting-room floor; Aiyuk is believed to have shown little interest in the Browns or Patriots.
The Pats indeed offered $32MM per year, Rapoport confirms. That led the pack in terms of extension offers, and it marked a stark deviation from how the organization proceeded under Bill Belichick. But Eliot Wolf has signed off on a spree of extensions and re-signings for Belichick-era pieces this year. The team also made a strong effort to sign Calvin Ridley in free agency, only to see the Titans come out victorious. The Ridley and Aiyuk pursuits reflected where the Pats believe they are deficient, and they will go into Drake Maye‘s rookie year with an undermanned group — albeit one including second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk.
As for the Browns, they have made trades for Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy over the past two offseasons. Those two will join Cooper, whose contract issue eventually produced an incentive package. Cooper remains a 2025 free agent-to-be. The high-end route runner would have made for an interesting 49ers addition, and the sides could have worked out a contract. Though, Cooper is four years older than Aiyuk. Part of the reason the 49ers wanted to re-up the 2020 first-rounder stemmed from his prime being ahead of him. Cooper already has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, but he will naturally decline earlier.
Cooper also has a superior resume to Sutton, who would have made for a different type of Brock Purdy target compared to Aiyuk. More of a jump-ball threat and possession receiver, the 28-year-old Denver wideout is coming off a 10-touchdown year. The Broncos clearly want the seventh-year pass catcher, who remains on a team-friendly deal that runs through 2025, to help the team develop Bo Nix.
None of these teams would have been relevant in the Aiyuk negotiations had the 49ers hammered out a deal early this offseason. While it is not exactly fair to penalize the NFC West club for not completing a deal before the Lions extended Amon-Ra St. Brown in April, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio adds the team’s initial offer in the $27MM-per-year neighborhood would have gotten a deal done before the Lions wideout cashed in at $30.01MM per annum.
By July, the 49ers still stood at $27MM per year. We heard the team upped its offer in early August. By August 12, it is believed the $30MM-AAV proposal was on the table. Aiyuk managed to skip two more weeks’ worth of practice, but the sides finally reached an agreement. After the comments of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch this week, Rapoport adds the 49ers essentially gave Aiyuk an ultimatum: either agree to the team’s offer or take the Steelers trade.
San Francisco did not only contact Denver about an escape-hatch wide receiver; the team made calls to several other teams about pass catchers, Rapoport adds. It is not known if the 49ers offered a third-rounder to any other team, but the Broncos — perhaps a sign for Sutton’s potential pre-deadline availability — are the only known team to pass on being the third party in what would have essentially been a three-team trade.
The 49ers were always the favorites here, but Aiyuk having interest in Cleveland or New England would have made matters more interesting due to the extension offers both clubs made.