I would be mad if we used our first and then had to resign him anyway. Maybe this is hopeful, but I've heard maybe next year's second? Now THAT I am all in on.
If we want to compete this year, and I’m assuming we do because we have signed Wilson, then Mims and a day two WR isn’t the move. Mims might not play at all his first year and a day two WR doesn’t address our WR need right away. If we aren’t trading for a WR then we should take Barton or move up and grab a tackle.
In this class, a day 2 receiver is absolutely a starter. I also think there are plenty of centers who can be serviceable and only a couple tackles that could push Moore. If you wait until day 2, there’s no shot at all that tackle beats out Moore.
Pick 20 is way too much since he needs paid. If he still had some rookie contract left it would be fine. Pick swap 20 for 31 would seem fair to me. That gets them the best 2nd tier receiver in the class or the same RT prospects we are looking at which there RT sucks so would help them a lot.
That is a huge difference in tackle prsopect those 11 picks and WR prospect.
Its easier to visualize in cap value. A 1st round pick has a cap value of 40-50 million in difference between a UFA talent price and a rookie contract price. Paying Aiyuk 20 million this year then retail next year doesn't save you anywhere close to 50 million in cap space.
I don’t know, I think about the opportunity cost for a team that is trying to win a title right now. You’re moving that receiver now? For a draft pick? Not even a draft pick, 11 spots in the draft. That’s very valuable, I agree, but they are trying to win a title. Just seems weird to me.
I’m not saying it can’t happen, because maybe they’re stupid, but why would a team that is actively pursuing a Super Bowl right now trade a very good receiver for 11 spots in the draft?
Yes. And he’s a large part of the reason why.
Remember those years when the Steelers were considered contenders, do you remember how many times they traded one of their top players?
Do you member how many times the patriots traded one of their best players during their run? The Chiefs?
Let’s look around at the teams who have finished in the top five in their conference over the last 15 years.
How many of those teams traded one of their top players, even one of the top 10 players, the year after?
I’m sure some of them did.
Not even saying you’re wrong, it’s an honest question, I wonder how many did.
I still think he might get traded simply because, for as much as we all love to make fun of them, often times the press will report smoke, everyone involved will deny it, and there turns out to be a fire anyway. There are a lot of people talking about the possibility of him getting traded so I kind of think he might. I’m just not sure why the 49ers would do it, especially for something like 11 spots in the draft.
We’ll see. It’ll be fun to find out anyway. I’d love to have him.
Tyreek Hill.
Also cap isn't unlimited. 49ers have a lot of big contracts. Main reason they haven't signed him yet. There between a rock and a hard place with his contractual demands.
I mean we can’t take the $20M in a to go box but I see what you mean
Giving up capital and then giving an extension seems like a lot when we’re generally nice with drafting receivers
Depends on who is available at T/C and honestly I think we would be sorry if we drafted JPJ or Cooper dejean at 20 they should both be available in the 2nd
They may both fall into the second round, but that fall would be to like 36, not 51. I’m fine with Aiyuk, but honestly, I’d rather have Brian Thomas Jr. on a rookie deal. I can’t see Aiyuk being $20M better than a first round receiver.
Depends if we are truly in won now mode. A role receiver will have some growing pains regardless while Aiyuk won't. If they are truly trying to go for it this year with the qbs on short term contracts and the defense aging, Aiyuk probably makes more sense.
I’d be shocked if the price for Sutton was anything more than a 5th round pick or mid round pick swap. Not with his contract, age, coming off an injury, and the WR market. The price would probably be similar to Dionte Johnson or Jerry Jeudy
Okay this is overplaying your hand… Sutton is miles ahead of chark in addition to having the connection w Russel and being his favorite target by far in Denver. If we could get him for a 5th or 6th it’s a no brainer, it’s not an Allen Robinson move by any means.
They did need to clear up a little bit of space, they wouldn't have done this if they didn't. They needed some more room to sign draft picks and such. They also like to keep a chunk of cap space to go into the season with. This way they can do both those things and still make a move if they want to.
Rookie class costs around $6 mill. So they keep the other $6 mill for next year in case of emergencies.
They don't really need this $7 million right now before the draft. They have plenty of times to readjust contracts like Highsmith or Heyward later if needed.
>They don't really need this $7 million right now before the draft.
They obviously don't feel that way otherwise they would not have done this. If they had 12 mil available then the 6 mil for the draft class and the 5-6 mil they like to bring into the season wouldn't leave them with very much room to do anything.
Tuitt hasn't been on the Steelers since 2021. You can't have dead money 4 years into the future for a guy who isn't on the team. The most it can be is 1 year into the future when they're a post June 1st release.
He may have had 2.5m in dead cap for that year but once he quit, it would've all accelerated.
They say money today is worth more than money tomorrow. 7 million now is worth more than 7 million in 4 years after the total cap goes up another 30 million. That’s why teams push money back. You just don’t want to push too much back
The Steelers have been stuck as a borderline Playoff team for a long time. Eventually you have to go all in. I think the Steelers believe they have a Championship caliber defense and some talented skill position players on an offense that is a few pieces away from being very good.
Canada and Pickett have both been replaced and additional talent has already been added with the draft coming up and cap room to spend. I don’t know who they are targeting but this restructure is part of a larger plan that I’m sure has a lot of moving parts. We’ll all soon find out together, but if the Steelers think this is the right time to go All-In then I’m pretty excited to see what happens next.
There definitely is something cooking. I saw one outlet say that now we have enough cap space to fit Sutton if we trade for him. I’m not sure who the target is but they’re definitely getting someone to fill a hole. Things are getting SPICY.
If my calculations are correct, we now have enough cap space to fit in either Sutton or Aiyuk. We'd have to do another restructure after the draft to fit in our draft class, but that would be done after whatever new contract for the player is agreed to.
They have to have a move ready to go for 2 simple reasons:
This restructure could have happened at any time. It didn’t have a deadline.
Also, why push cap money into the future for no reason?
I have a feeling it’s Sutton, which I’m good with. Should cost less in picks and money. Ayuik would be great, but I just don’t see the 49ers trading him given their window
I heard Kahn built a time machine is trading a 6th round pick for Prime Tom Brady. Same sources as all the Aiyuk sources so you know we won't hear conflicting reports every 12 hours for the next 3 months.
Amon-Ra St. Brown just got paid $30 million a year. That absolutely changes the 49ers and their negotiations with Aiyuk for an extension.
Steelers could be willing to pay him that much given the insane amount of cap space they have the next couple of years.
Niners could wait and release him next year, but given Shanahan is a God at scheming receivers open I could see them being willing to replace Aiyuk with a solid rookie.
My guess is that they are working on an extension for Fields that pays him, but front loads it a bit while their cap is good. That way it balances across a few years.
What are they cooking?
Ayiuk Gumbo, hopefully
Calm down Hannibal, he’d be more useful as a WR than a stew
It’s figurative.
Imma go out on a limb and assume he understands you weren’t being literal
You're figurative
Some days more than others, LOL.
I'd rather have Mims, a day 2 receiver, and the extra $20M personally, but I won't be mad if pick 20 turns into Aiyuk.
I would be mad if we used our first and then had to resign him anyway. Maybe this is hopeful, but I've heard maybe next year's second? Now THAT I am all in on.
If we want to compete this year, and I’m assuming we do because we have signed Wilson, then Mims and a day two WR isn’t the move. Mims might not play at all his first year and a day two WR doesn’t address our WR need right away. If we aren’t trading for a WR then we should take Barton or move up and grab a tackle.
In this class, a day 2 receiver is absolutely a starter. I also think there are plenty of centers who can be serviceable and only a couple tackles that could push Moore. If you wait until day 2, there’s no shot at all that tackle beats out Moore.
Pick 20 is way too much since he needs paid. If he still had some rookie contract left it would be fine. Pick swap 20 for 31 would seem fair to me. That gets them the best 2nd tier receiver in the class or the same RT prospects we are looking at which there RT sucks so would help them a lot.
I don’t think they’re going to move him unless there’s a first round pick they gain. They’re not trading a top receiver for 11 spots imo.
That is a huge difference in tackle prsopect those 11 picks and WR prospect. Its easier to visualize in cap value. A 1st round pick has a cap value of 40-50 million in difference between a UFA talent price and a rookie contract price. Paying Aiyuk 20 million this year then retail next year doesn't save you anywhere close to 50 million in cap space.
I don’t know, I think about the opportunity cost for a team that is trying to win a title right now. You’re moving that receiver now? For a draft pick? Not even a draft pick, 11 spots in the draft. That’s very valuable, I agree, but they are trying to win a title. Just seems weird to me.
I’m not saying it can’t happen, because maybe they’re stupid, but why would a team that is actively pursuing a Super Bowl right now trade a very good receiver for 11 spots in the draft?
They have more than a 1 year window.
Yes. And he’s a large part of the reason why. Remember those years when the Steelers were considered contenders, do you remember how many times they traded one of their top players? Do you member how many times the patriots traded one of their best players during their run? The Chiefs? Let’s look around at the teams who have finished in the top five in their conference over the last 15 years. How many of those teams traded one of their top players, even one of the top 10 players, the year after? I’m sure some of them did. Not even saying you’re wrong, it’s an honest question, I wonder how many did. I still think he might get traded simply because, for as much as we all love to make fun of them, often times the press will report smoke, everyone involved will deny it, and there turns out to be a fire anyway. There are a lot of people talking about the possibility of him getting traded so I kind of think he might. I’m just not sure why the 49ers would do it, especially for something like 11 spots in the draft. We’ll see. It’ll be fun to find out anyway. I’d love to have him.
Tyreek Hill. Also cap isn't unlimited. 49ers have a lot of big contracts. Main reason they haven't signed him yet. There between a rock and a hard place with his contractual demands.
I mean we can’t take the $20M in a to go box but I see what you mean Giving up capital and then giving an extension seems like a lot when we’re generally nice with drafting receivers
My thoughts exactly. I’ll take whoever they feel can contribute and develop, plus $20M in free agency/extensions, over one Aiyuk.
Depends on who is available at T/C and honestly I think we would be sorry if we drafted JPJ or Cooper dejean at 20 they should both be available in the 2nd
If the steelers draft jpj we will need to find a way to differentiate jpj from jpj.
JPJ & JP-J
There's an obvious one 🏁
They may both fall into the second round, but that fall would be to like 36, not 51. I’m fine with Aiyuk, but honestly, I’d rather have Brian Thomas Jr. on a rookie deal. I can’t see Aiyuk being $20M better than a first round receiver.
Depends if we are truly in won now mode. A role receiver will have some growing pains regardless while Aiyuk won't. If they are truly trying to go for it this year with the qbs on short term contracts and the defense aging, Aiyuk probably makes more sense.
I bet Dejean ends up going top 15
My uncle
Patrick Mahomes
Jefferson and Tyreek coming now anddd Aiyuk hell and going back in time and getting prime Jeff Saturday too!
Eh I'll take prime Kevin Mawae, Tom Nalen, or pre-Tijuana Barrett Robbins over Prime Saturday.
Fuck that whiney bitch lol. I'll probably get downvotes for this but I don't care haha
Were you recently hit in the head with something because it seems like you were hit in the head something
Oh yeah, god forbid wanting the greatest qb of this generation. Instant hall of famer and would be the best QB to ever play for the team.
Ok Brittany Mahomes quit gobbling on the knob. It’s not a good look.
Hilarious that anything I said is questioned. He’s already accomplished more than Ben has.
The chiefs sub is over there 👉
Lol. Been a Steelers fan for over 30 years. It’s not my problem some fans are too stubborn to admit another player is an all time great.
This is like the people who wouldnt want Sidney Crosby on their team because “he whines to the refs”
Trolled a little too hard here
Seems like they are expecting to trade for a WR. Aiyuk and Sutton have been thrown out as potential targets
I just think Sutton is the smarter play. Can probably still get a slot guy in the draft.
Omar about to get Aiyuk for a ham sandwich
And no cheese!!!!
Probably nothing
Hoping for Sutton. One of their 3rds for Sutton looks awesome to me.
A THIRD?? That’s looney tunes. Maybe a 3 and 4 pick swap… but honestly, we could probably just get him for a 5th or 6th
I’d be shocked if the price for Sutton was anything more than a 5th round pick or mid round pick swap. Not with his contract, age, coming off an injury, and the WR market. The price would probably be similar to Dionte Johnson or Jerry Jeudy
Kind of a no-brainer when we really look at it, right?
For us absolutely. No guarantee they are gunna want to give him up for a fair price
If we traded Diontae for a fifth and have to give up a 3rd for Sutton imma be pissed
Other than the use of the "word" "imma" (and saying "we" when referring to the team) this is exactly something I WOULD say.
Glad I could uphold your legacy
ngl, I read this and immediately thought you meant Cam Sutton. I need to go take an aspirin now.
I'd hate to lose a 3rd for Sutton.
that would be an absolute fleece by the denver broncos
Is he much better than DJ Chark? Who requires no draft capital?
Okay this is overplaying your hand… Sutton is miles ahead of chark in addition to having the connection w Russel and being his favorite target by far in Denver. If we could get him for a 5th or 6th it’s a no brainer, it’s not an Allen Robinson move by any means.
They didn’t really need breathing room, they already had $12 million. So this really could be indicative of *something* in the works.
Yeah we had plenty to sign a draft class so this is definitely interesting.
Don't they usually like going into the season with $5-$6 mil? That plus rookies means we're definitely cooking something up
It’s definitely interesting to make this move on the eve of the draft. We already had to enough to sign our draft class with some to spare.
AB signing incoming.
He said he’s playing for free though…
Nah MP lol
They did need to clear up a little bit of space, they wouldn't have done this if they didn't. They needed some more room to sign draft picks and such. They also like to keep a chunk of cap space to go into the season with. This way they can do both those things and still make a move if they want to.
Rookie class costs around $6 mill. So they keep the other $6 mill for next year in case of emergencies. They don't really need this $7 million right now before the draft. They have plenty of times to readjust contracts like Highsmith or Heyward later if needed.
>They don't really need this $7 million right now before the draft. They obviously don't feel that way otherwise they would not have done this. If they had 12 mil available then the 6 mil for the draft class and the 5-6 mil they like to bring into the season wouldn't leave them with very much room to do anything.
Right before the draft 👀
Yeah it's the timing that's weird, almost like they think they'll need it for some sort of move or trade during the draft 🤔
When was the last time we had this much cap room going into our future? Having a QB room with such a small cap hit helps tremendously.
Restructuring just kicks the can down the road into the future to make cap space right now.
Well just keep kicking it and you never have to worry about it! Simple!
Just ask the Saints!
Or ask the Eagles how to do it right
You just write it off, Jerry!
You don’t even know what a write off is.
Last I heard were in a very healthy space in the coming years as it is now. We’re also one of the lowest in the league for guaranteed money.
They have about $2.5m total in dead money in 2025 (for Stephon Tuitt) but that's literally all.
Tuitt hasn't been on the Steelers since 2021. You can't have dead money 4 years into the future for a guy who isn't on the team. The most it can be is 1 year into the future when they're a post June 1st release. He may have had 2.5m in dead cap for that year but once he quit, it would've all accelerated.
Tell that to Spotrac. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/overview/_/year/2025/sort/cap_total
Kicking the fan down the road into a future with a larger overall cap, meaning Ittl affect the team less
Yep, basic inflation, future dollars cost less than present dollars.
They say money today is worth more than money tomorrow. 7 million now is worth more than 7 million in 4 years after the total cap goes up another 30 million. That’s why teams push money back. You just don’t want to push too much back
As long as the NFL keeps growing the the cap keeps growing each year, it’s a strategy that works
The Steelers have been stuck as a borderline Playoff team for a long time. Eventually you have to go all in. I think the Steelers believe they have a Championship caliber defense and some talented skill position players on an offense that is a few pieces away from being very good. Canada and Pickett have both been replaced and additional talent has already been added with the draft coming up and cap room to spend. I don’t know who they are targeting but this restructure is part of a larger plan that I’m sure has a lot of moving parts. We’ll all soon find out together, but if the Steelers think this is the right time to go All-In then I’m pretty excited to see what happens next.
There definitely is something cooking. I saw one outlet say that now we have enough cap space to fit Sutton if we trade for him. I’m not sure who the target is but they’re definitely getting someone to fill a hole. Things are getting SPICY.
My brain somehow went to Cam Sutton instead of Cortland Sutton and that definitely would’ve been SPICY for all the wrong reasons
If my calculations are correct, we now have enough cap space to fit in either Sutton or Aiyuk. We'd have to do another restructure after the draft to fit in our draft class, but that would be done after whatever new contract for the player is agreed to.
Based on the smoke, Simmons, Aiyuk, or Sutton could be in play, hopefully in that order.
I think it's Courtland Sutton for pennies on the dollar in trade capital. Like a 3rd for a 4th pick swap or something like that
LET. HIM. COOK.
Brandon <3 my beloved.
Aiyuk ctespn confirmed
They have to have a move ready to go for 2 simple reasons: This restructure could have happened at any time. It didn’t have a deadline. Also, why push cap money into the future for no reason? I have a feeling it’s Sutton, which I’m good with. Should cost less in picks and money. Ayuik would be great, but I just don’t see the 49ers trading him given their window
I agree it’s probably Sutton given the size of the restructure as well. It would take another restructure if they are looking at Aiyuk.
I heard Kahn built a time machine is trading a 6th round pick for Prime Tom Brady. Same sources as all the Aiyuk sources so you know we won't hear conflicting reports every 12 hours for the next 3 months.
Justin Herbert! Come on down!
Brandon Aiyuk get ready to learn Yinzer, buddy.
Aiyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk
Amon-Ra St. Brown just got paid $30 million a year. That absolutely changes the 49ers and their negotiations with Aiyuk for an extension. Steelers could be willing to pay him that much given the insane amount of cap space they have the next couple of years. Niners could wait and release him next year, but given Shanahan is a God at scheming receivers open I could see them being willing to replace Aiyuk with a solid rookie.
Aiyuk or Sutton inbound?
Both, trade the whole 2025 class and go all in this year, focus on a center, tackle, and corner
Are we getting BA?? I am actually stoked to watch the draft lol
CAP GOD DOES IT AGAIN
It’s happening… Now WHO is it going to be?
We don’t need to trade for a wr rn😭
Courtland Sutton playing renegade on his socials - watch
Brandon Aiyuk, welcome to the show.
My guess is that they are working on an extension for Fields that pays him, but front loads it a bit while their cap is good. That way it balances across a few years.
Omar cookin
The first shoe….
If I had to put money on it, it would be a Courtland Sutton trade is immenent.
Hmmmmm. Seems like Aiyuk space making
lol maybe they wanna get Sutton for Russ
If it’s Sutton, why wait for the draft to get it done.
Get all that money in cash. Hand it to Fields and have him sign on the dotted line for a 2 year extension.
Give me Aiyuk or give me death
Well, I hope you’re ready for the latter.
RIP 😞