Will Brandon Aiyuk play for the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots or another team this season? The star 49ers wide receiver is currently on the trade block and has requested a trade from the team this off-season.

With the NFL regular season starting in less than a month, Aiyuk’s situation is not ideal, as he hasn’t reached a long-term deal with the 49ers and hasn’t been traded.

While the Steelers have emerged as a trade partner and New England is not interested, NFL insider Dianna Russini gave the team Aiyuk prefers to play for. Via Russini:

“Brandon Aiyuk wants to be there. He wants to play for San Francisco. He moved his family out there in the offseason. They’ve settled down.”

According to Russini, Aiyuk wants to stay put in San Francisco and reach a long-term deal with the team. If traded, he would likely have to relocate his family to the city of the team he is traded to.

New England was heavily interested in Aiyuk, but yesterday, they revealed that they were no longer interested in pursuing him. A day later, on Friday morning, it was reported that Aiyuk turned down a four-year, $128 million offer that averages $32 million a year from the Patriots.

Aiyuk reportedly wants to play for Pittsburgh but the 49ers and the Steelers can’t agree upon the compensation. According to Steel City’s Jim Wexell, the 49ers are reportedly looking for two first-round picks, or picks plus a player in return for Aiyuk.

Deebo Samuel spoke about Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation earlier this off-season

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel knows what Aiyuk is going through. While he was looking for a contract extension before the start of the 2022 season, Samuel had a holdout and even requested a trade.

Samuel used that as leverage, as he was able to agree to a three-year, $73.5 million contract extension with $58.1 million guaranteed before the start of the season.

As Samuel was in Aiyuk’s shoes a few seasons ago, he gave his teammate some advice. He told Aiyuk to keep his head up and that things will work out.

“I know what it feels like to go through what he’s going through right now. The only thing I can do is just tell him to keep his head up, things are gonna work out. Just day by day, like, it’s a long process – real long – it’s frustrating.”

The 49ers have less than a month to reach a long-term deal with Aiyuk before the season starts. The WR could hold out, as he is currently holding in with his situation. The team also has star left tackle Trent Williams holding out as he is looking for a new contract also.

Do you think the San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk will hammer out a long-term deal before the start of the season?