A year after battling through what felt like countless injuries, the San Francisco 49ers have gotten back on track, already winning more games than they did last season. Yet, not everything in San Francisco has been all peaches and cream this year.

Specifically, the lingering absence of Brandon Aiyuk has caused some internal frustration to the point where the 49ers have reportedly voided the guarantees in his contract for next season. Keep in mind, this comes just a year after they inked Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract extension.

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Chances are, the 49ers will find a way to move on from Aiyuk this offseason. Yet, they tried trading him long ago.

According to the San Francisco Standard’s David Lombardi, back when the 49ers were discussing trades with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, they tried asking for George Pickens in return for Aiyuk. Yet, the Steelers weren’t willing to trade Pickens at that point.

Of course, their plans changed in May of 2025 when the Cowboys offered a third plus a fifth-round pick in exchange for Pickens. Though we’d argue that getting a healthy Aiyuk back would have been a better trade return than what the Steelers settled for.

Unfortunately, Aiyuk hasn’t been healthy. He hasn’t even been able to play a snap this season, and it’s looking more and more like he’ll sit the entire season out after recovering from ACL surgery.

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Meanwhile, Pickens is emerging as the NFL’s next superstar receiver, ranking second in receiving yards and third in touchdowns. Surely, the 49ers wish the Steelers had been more willing to listen to their offer a season ago, and San Francisco may someday look back and regret it, too.

Then again, unless and until Aiyuk gets back to being a productive receiver, it’s hard to argue that the Steelers didn’t end up making the right call, even if they couldn’t have predicted such a serious injury occurring to Aiyuk.

Related: 2025 NFL Report Card: Grading All 32 NFL Teams Before Week 14

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