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49ers had Trade in Place with Steelers During Draft for Aiyuk or Deebo

Grant Cohn

November 13, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) celebrate a first down against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 13, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) celebrate a first down against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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The 49ers apparently came extremely close to trading Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel during this past NFL Draft.

So close that the Steelers thought they had a deal in place with the 49ers before it fell apart at the last minute, according to NFL Insider Mike Lombardi. Which means the 49ers ultimately wanted more in return for Aiyuk than the Steelers were willing to offer at the time.

Lombardi is an interesting source, considering his son, Mick Lombardi, currently is the 49ers' senior offensive assistant. So I'm guessing this report is legit. And it raises the question of whether those two wide receivers are still available.

Clearly they are, but at an extremely high price. And that price could come down as time passes and the season draws nearer. It seems like the 49ers are bracing for life without one or both of those star wideouts, considering they just drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in Round 1 and then signed slot receiver Jauan Jennings to an extension that will pay him $10 million in 2025.

Aiyuk most likely wants no less than $30 million per season, considering the Vikings just gave Justin Jefferson $35 million per season and those two have similar skill sets. The biggest difference is the Vikings throw to Jefferson much more than the 49ers throw to Aiyuk. If those two switched teams, Aiyuk might put up better numbers than Jefferson.

The Steelers make sense as a team that would want Aiyuk because they're not paying big money for a quarterback. As opposed to the 49ers, who will make Brock Purdy one of the highest-paid players in the NFL next year.

Stay tuned. This story seems far from over.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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