The Latest on Brandon Aiyuk's Trade Drama with the 49ers
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00:00Adam Kaplan is our NFL insider.
00:02He's covered the NFL for almost 30 years,
00:04second to none in the business,
00:06and we're lucky to have him on Sports Grid.
00:08You can follow him on X at Kaplan NFL.
00:10He's traveled all over the country
00:12to training camps already this summer.
00:14He was just in Lipstick City, where he's very popular.
00:17But we'll start today by talking about Brandon Aiyuk.
00:21Now, the thing that I'm interested in,
00:22as you know, is only one-sided.
00:25The Steelers were out of the conversations as of last night,
00:28and then re-injected into those trade conversations today.
00:34All right, I'm gonna go back a while here
00:36with the Steelers and Brandon Aiyuk.
00:37They've been interested in him, I'm told, for months.
00:40And they monitored the situation
00:42as other teams have had done,
00:44and we'll talk about that as well.
00:46But going to your Steelers,
00:48this is their interest level,
00:49and basically what I understand.
00:50So here's what they know.
00:52Pickens is definitely a starter.
00:53Opposite him, they don't know
00:54who's gonna be starting week one.
00:56Rowan Wilson, who they really like his week-to-week
00:58with an ankle injury.
01:00Van Jefferson, I'm told, has looked good filling in for him,
01:02but let's call it like it is.
01:04Van Jefferson's a pretty good backup, that's it.
01:06They need a starter to be in the lineup opposite Pickens.
01:10The teams know what the asking price is.
01:13The feeling around the league is,
01:14if you're trading for Brandon Aiyuk,
01:16you're gonna have to give him the receiver back
01:18so that your Steelers remain interested.
01:20Now, understand with trade talks,
01:23you can have an understanding one day that,
01:24you know what, we're not gonna do this,
01:26but you monitor and you keep checking, keep checking,
01:29and you can get back in.
01:30And I know ESPN had a report that they're back in,
01:32and I know they've been monitoring the whole time.
01:35So, and let's go talk about the other teams here,
01:38the Browns.
01:39I know people are kind of surprised.
01:40Why would the Browns be mentioned?
01:41Gotta understand a couple of things here.
01:43Murray Cooper is on the last year of his deal.
01:45He didn't get an extension.
01:46He got a revised last year of his contract.
01:49They added 5 million incentives.
01:51They guaranteed his salary for the season,
01:53but he's not signed past the season.
01:55Elijah Moore, you might remember a couple of years ago,
01:56he was acquired from the Jets, former second round pick.
01:59He's on the final year of his rookie deal.
02:01So, if you look past this season,
02:03they don't have anybody.
02:04They don't have a true number one receiver.
02:07Jerry Judy is like a 1A, by the way.
02:09Jerry Judy, his contract extended,
02:11making over 17 million this season,
02:13but the Browns are going for it.
02:14I'm told Deshaun Watson looks pretty good in training camp.
02:17They're going for it,
02:17and they have sincere interest in this player.
02:20And then the Patriots, in my reporting here,
02:22I put out back in March,
02:23the Patriots are calling every single team
02:26who potentially had a receiver available.
02:28They were in on Calvin Ridley.
02:29They thought they made a competitive offer.
02:30He decided not to re-sign with the Jaguars.
02:33He wanted to stay down Southeast with the Titans.
02:35They called the Eagles for A.J. Brown.
02:37They told him that they were not trading the player.
02:40Well, they called a lot of teams for him,
02:41so they're sincerely interested.
02:43And by the way, knowing the way these things work,
02:47you typically want to trade, when you make a trade
02:50and you're going to get a first or second round pick
02:51or multiple picks, you like to trade them to a team
02:54that's A, not going to be very good,
02:55and B, it's going to have a high draft pick.
02:58If you look at all the teams that are interested in Farrell,
03:00the Patriots would give him the most return for their buck.
03:03And the Commanders, by the way,
03:05the Commanders are running a spread offense
03:07under Cliff Kingsbury, their new offensive coordinator.
03:10They're locked in for the future with Terry McLaurin.
03:13But let's not forget, this is a new regime
03:16and a new coaching staff.
03:17Jahan Dotson, who's a former first round pick,
03:20they're still trying to get him going here,
03:21try to get him to the next level.
03:23So they have sincere interest in IU,
03:25but to me, when you look at the Browns,
03:28make a ton of sense.
03:29Again, you're not trading for a player for one year.
03:32The Browns make a lot of sense.
03:34The Steelers are obvious.
03:36Now, I would say the one thing about the Steelers,
03:38they're typically not,
03:38they don't typically don't do big deals like this
03:40in terms of acquiring players.
03:42Usually they trade them away.
03:43But the bottom line is,
03:44you got to keep an eye on your Steelers
03:46because you get a Brandon Iyuk
03:49to get paired with George Pickens,
03:51that's a game changer.
03:52Don't worry about the depth.
03:53You've got two absolute studs at receiver.
03:55Now, as far as the Niners,
03:57when you look at their situation,
03:59if they're able to move Iyuk, Ricky Pearsall,
04:01unfortunately, Kyle Shanahan said today,
04:03and I could give you a little bit more information on it
04:05as I understand it.
04:06Shanahan said there was an issue with his shoulder
04:08from OTAs.
04:09I'm told the hamstring is fine.
04:11He's practiced well, but now he's got a shoulder issue.
04:15Remember, they drafted him in the first round this year.
04:17He's got to start someday.
04:19Within his first four years of his contract,
04:20he's got to be a starter.
04:22But you've got Deebo Samuel past this season for real.
04:25No guarantee money left in his contract.
04:27So they could always get out of it if they want to.
04:29But they've tried to get Iyuk resigned,
04:31but they're nowhere close.
04:34Because he's with this team with a lot of passing options,
04:37Christian McCaffrey, by the way,
04:38is going to be down for a bit with a calf injury.
04:41It's hard to pay him like A.J. Brown money,
04:44$32 million a year, a true number one,
04:46when he's not putting up those type of numbers
04:48because of the situation he's in.
04:49There's too many guys who are going to get the football
04:51in the Niners' offense.
04:53So just now, I guess,
04:55McCaffrey did an interview with NFL Network
04:57where he said literally, quote, unquote,
05:00that Iyuk is a former teammate.
05:04Do you think he's been traded this afternoon already,
05:07and we just don't know to who?
05:09Well, look, they're engaged with a bunch of teams here,
05:12and we know the report about your Steelers.
05:14And look, they know that getting a deal done with Iyuk,
05:19with their team, with the Niners,
05:20is highly unlikely because they're so far apart.
05:23Yeah, he said former teammate, huh?
05:25I wonder if that's a Freudian slip
05:26or if that's actually the truth.
05:27So that is interesting.
05:29No, but it has not been done yet, as far as I know.
05:31Within the last five minutes, as I look at my texts, no.
05:34Not that it's been done yet.
05:35We'll see.
05:36Okay, so let's talk about the Raiders,
05:38because you were just with them in Costa Mesa, California.
05:42How did that go?
05:44That was amazing.
05:45I have to tell you, this was last Saturday evening, right,
05:48where the Chargers used to practice,
05:49and they've moved to the Bolt and El Segundo.
05:53In my entire career, I've not seen anything like this.
05:55They hit for, well, I'm talking about in pads,
05:58taking players to the ground, actual tackling,
06:01for well over a half an hour.
06:02This is really not done.
06:04Usually when teams hit, Scott, it's for three to five minutes,
06:08maybe 10, and usually they separate,
06:10do maybe two small hitting periods.
06:12Antonio Pierce wants a physical team.
06:14He told me that as much when I was talking to Coach Pierce
06:17at the owners' meetings back in March.
06:19But this is unbelievable, Scott.
06:21I mean, it was, you just don't see this.
06:23And I got to tell you, and I know the oddsmakers have them
06:26at 6 1⁄2, the over is minus 145,
06:29but the over at 7 1⁄2 is plus 135.
06:32Let's not forget, they were 8-9 last season.
06:35Okay, remember, until late in the season,
06:37they were in the playoff line for a wild card.
06:39This team is better.
06:40Now, you could talk about quarterback all you want.
06:42Aiden O'Connell's competing against Gardner Minshew.
06:44My sense is Minshew's a little bit ahead,
06:46but the Raiders will tell you it's wide open
06:50and they're going to settle this after the preseason.
06:52Minshew, by the way, had a phenomenal practice,
06:54maybe his best at training camp last Saturday.
06:56O'Connell's a gunslinger.
06:57What I like about this team, though, moving on here,
07:00really good running game, good receiver, though.
07:02They don't have very good depth.
07:04Offensive line's got a couple injuries which concern me.
07:06Outstanding defensive line.
07:08They're legit seven deep.
07:10The one issue I have, though, with this football team,
07:12they're not strong enough at corner,
07:13don't have good enough depth.
07:14Teams will throw against them.
07:16This is absolutely a team,
07:17if they can get consistent quarterback play,
07:19that could push for a wild card.
07:20I know they're plus 900 to win division.
07:22They're not winning division.
07:23That's not going to happen, but to get eight or nine wins,
07:27I think it's very, very realistic with this roster,
07:31which, by the way, has been upgraded.
07:32And Brock Bower's at tight end.
07:34Scott looks really, really good.
07:36They're going to be heavy 12 personnel offense,
07:39two tight ends, and two wide receivers.
07:41This team's good enough to get a wild card.
07:43They're going to push for one.
07:45So one of their strengths is obviously tight ends,
07:48running backs, wide receivers,
07:49D-line, the tackle, and then their strengths.
07:52What are their weaknesses?
07:55Yeah, other than corner,
07:56depth at wide receiver concerns me.
07:58Depth on the offensive line.
07:59By the way, Jackson Powers-Johnson,
08:01who's out with a concussion, their second-round pick,
08:03who's a center guard,
08:05and that's concerning for me.
08:06He's not right yet.
08:08I just mentioned the two injuries on their offensive line.
08:11They're not very deep.
08:12So you worry about teams as you get through the season
08:16and the injuries pile up.
08:17They've already got injury concerns.
08:19They're okay at linebacker.
08:21They're okay at safety.
08:22Corners of position, Scott,
08:24they're just not strong enough there.
08:25And that, to me, is why they're not a lock
08:27to make the playoffs or a wild card.
08:29It's probably why they're not a nine- or ten-win team.
08:31I will say this, though.
08:32I like their quarterback position.
08:34It's very, very competitive.
08:36Aidan O'Connell's an absolute gunslinger,
08:38and I could tell you, Gardner-Mitchell's super competitive.
08:40He turned down three or four offers, I'm told,
08:42to be a backup, and he had one chance to be a starter.
08:44It was with the Raiders at $12.5 million a year.
08:47That's pretty good.