Brandon Aiyuk saga just took a wild turn with crazy trade rumor

We've been hearing the Steelers as a possible Brandon Aiyuk trade destination, and it appears the latest rumor suggests that's the case. Kind of.

In case you were completely over the drama and speculation surrounding San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, too bad.

On Monday, a report from NFL Draft Buzz's Dan Marino said the Niners were reportedly dealing Aiyuk to the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending an offseason chock full of rumors and speculation about the wideout's future, some of which included thoughts of him heading to the AFC North to join head coach Mike Tomlin's squad.

Aiyuk, of course, had asked for a trade request. But a Niners team ready to win a Super Bowl now had little incentive to trade him unless the package received in return would be too good to be true.

Lending credence to the report, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco included Marino's Saturday report of Aiyuk being shopped, suggesting the Steelers, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots as possible destinations.

The problem? No other notable source corroborated the report, and one would figure the likes of ESPN's Adam Schefter and/or NFL Network's Ian Rapoport would jump on the news to back up the claim.

Not long after Marino's report, NFL Network even reported no deal was in place, although it acknowledged that things could change.

The full details of how the trade rumor surfaced haven't been reported yet, and it's possible false news just ruins some reputations and nothing more. However, Aiyuk did post a photo on Instagram of him apparently departing California and saying, "it's been real" with black and gold hearts.

The rift between Aiyuk and the Niners reached a stalemate earlier this offseason with San Francisco's top wide receiver from the last two years reportedly wanting a deal worth an average of $30 million, annually, while the 49ers were willing to pay in the range of $26 million to $28 million.

Had the Niners engineered an extension earlier during the offseason, they could have likely avoided the explosion of the wide receiver market that took place in subsequent months.

By not doing so, San Francisco effectively put itself in a situation where rumors like this would pop up.

There'll be much more to come on this, so stay tuned.

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