Reporter shares if Brandon Aiyuk wants to stay with 49ers

Current NFL analyst Herm Edwards is close with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and with 49ers general manager John Lynch, so it was considered noteworthy when Edwards said last week that the Niners and Aiyuk were willing to prolong their working relationship.

During a Monday afternoon appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter somewhat echoed Edwards' take but also acknowledged that Aiyuk is still looking for a lucrative extension while in the final year of his rookie contract.

"We've said all along that this is a very hard deal to get done because any acquiring team would have to satisfy both Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers," Schefter said about the 26-year-old receiving both a trade out of San Francisco and an extension from a different club, as shared by Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. "And so if a team can't do both, then a deal can't get done. And so you had teams out there that could satisfy one of those conditions, but not both. And with that being the case, I think Brandon Aiyuk felt like, look, he'd like to stay in San Francisco, but he wants to get paid."

Specifically, Aiyuk was linked with the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers last week. The Commanders reportedly "removed themselves from trade talks for Aiyuk," and he rejected joining a Patriots side that's still in the early days of a multiyear rebuild.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Monday morning that the Aiyuk saga now involves just the 49ers and Steelers because the Browns "don’t believe they have a good chance of landing" him.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated previously suggested that the 49ers allowing Aiyuk's camp to speak with the Steelers could "provide the framework for a deal" that would keep the 2020 first-round draft pick with San Francisco. 

During Monday's show segment, Schefter said that "it looks like the focus and emphasis is on keeping [Aiyuk] in San Francisco and not trading him" ahead of the club's regular-season opener against the New York Jets on Sept. 9.

"But I would say that this has had many twists and turns to it," Schefter continued. "And until there's final resolution, you don't know. But the 49ers want to keep him. They don't wanna 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."

Unless Aiyuk is willing to forfeit money by sitting regular-season games out, he ultimately may have to play in a contract year because he's signed through the campaign and can have his rights for 2025 retained via the franchise tag. At this point, getting Aiyuk to accept an extension worth even slightly less than what he has wanted would have to be considered a massive win for 49ers general manager John Lynch.