Jay Glazer: Brandon Aiyuk canceled transfer from 49ers to Steelers at the last minute

Brandon Aiyuk will start for the San Francisco 49ers against the New York Jets on Monday night after an offseason standoff with the team that spawned months of trade rumors. But how close was Aiyuk to starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season instead?

In mid-August, it was widely reported that the 49ers and Steelers had agreed to a trade, or at least were close to sending Aiyuk to Pittsburgh. A few days later, however, Aiyuk officially signed a four-year contract extension worth up to $120 million to remain with the 49ers. It turns out, however, that Aiyuk actually almost went to Pittsburgh, and it took a chance encounter with head coach Kyle Shanahan — and Shanahan's running skills — to prevent the transfer from being officially completed, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported on “FOX NFL Sunday.”

“The day [Aiyuk’s extension] was actually done, the 49ers traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Glazer said. “He was already on his way there, and then Aiyuk happened to arrive at the facility early that day and went down to meet with Shanahan.”

The message Aiyuk was apparently sending to Shanahan was that he wanted to stay in the Bay Area, where he had success in his career under a head coach who is considered one of the best offensive minds in the sport. But when Shanahan tried to get the message across, there was a problem.

“Kyle Shanahan tried to contact the front office, but they couldn't take his call because they were trying to finalize the trade with the Steelers. So Shanahan actually ran all the way up the stairs [and said]”Hold on. Let's put these trade talks on hold now. Pittsburgh, we'll call you right back.” [49ers officials] went down and talked to Aiyuk for about two hours. They said, “Look, you have until the end of practice. Either we trade you to Pittsburgh today or you take the deal that's on the table. It's up to you, but you have until the end of practice.”

Aiyuk soon decided to stay with the 49ers. Now the man who had a career-high 1,342 receiving yards and a Super Bowl run last season will likely play a major role in Shanahan's powerful offense again in 2024.

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