After a last-minute meeting with Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan sprinted through the team's facility to thwart a trade that would have sent the wide receiver to the Steelers, according to Fox's Jay Glazer. Report on Sunday.
San Francisco and Pittsburgh had essentially worked out a deal before Aiyuk re-signed with the Niners on Aug. 29 on a four-year, $120 million contract extension.
“Here's a scoop that nobody knows about, right? The day it actually happened, the 49ers were going to trade him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he was on his way there,” Glazer said on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. “And then all of a sudden, Brandon Aiyuk happened to show up to the facility early that day, and he went downstairs and tried to meet with Kyle Shanahan.
“Kyle Shanahan tried to get in touch with the front office, but they weren't taking his calls because they were trying to get a trade done with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So Shanahan actually ran up to the second floor and said, 'Hold on a second. Let's put these trade negotiations on hold for now. Pittsburgh, I'll call you back right away.'”
Shanahan, general manager John Lynch and other members of the front office went back downstairs and spoke with Aiyuk for “about two hours” and issued an ultimatum to prevent the trade from happening.
“They said, 'Look, you have time before practice ends. You can either get traded to Pittsburgh today or take the deal that's on the table. It's up to you, but you have time before practice ends,'” Glazer said.[Aiyuk] “He said, 'This is where I belong,' so Brandon Aiyuk will remain with the 49ers.”
Pro Football Focus ranked Aiyuk as the second-best wide receiver in the NFL last season behind the Dolphins' Tyreek Hill. The 26-year-old former first-round draft pick had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards (17.9 average) and seven touchdowns.
