I know it’s a name Pittsburgh Steelers fans are sick of hearing about. Brandon Aiyuk. An endless 2024 offseason cycle beginning at the draft and carrying nearly through Week 1. Rumors, speculation, social media chatter, the story TV shows and podcasts filled when there was dead air (and in the summer, there’s *lots* of it). At points, a trade sending Aiyuk to the Steelers seemed on the precipice. In the end, it went up in a cloud of smoke. Aiyuk re-signed with the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh was left holding the bag, played for the fool. The same saga could be playing out with Los Angeles Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford.
Buzz around Stafford has been passed along for weeks. It wasn’t until last Friday the story took a serious turn when NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the Rams permitted Stafford to speak with other teams to gauge his value. Technically not a trade request but the closest a player can get without crossing that line. Now, the rumors and debate are in full-force. If Stafford is going to go anywhere, Pittsburgh gives him the best chance to win. It certainly isn’t Cleveland, Tennessee, or the New York Giants.
Even I’m prone to believing the hype. It’s hard to imagine the Rams letting Stafford court other teams and discuss trade compensation all for that toothpaste to be crammed back into the tube. But it’s equally difficult imagining Los Angeles’ benefit from trading Stafford in a bad year to need a quarterback for a team capable of making an NFC playoff run. The best thing for both sides, Stafford and the Rams, is to fix the marriage instead of barrelling towards divorce.
San Francisco made the same calculation. Better to pay Aiyuk and keep him than trade him away and struggle to replace him. The situations aren’t completely comparable; the 49ers may very well have dealt Aiyuk had they been able to find a wide receiver to get in return, attempting a rare three-way trade with Pittsburgh and the Denver Broncos for Courtland Sutton that was rejected. Still, the end result is all that matters. No trade.
Despite the months-long issues over contract, Aiyuk wasn’t getting offered what he thought he was worth, the two sides figured it out. Like Los Angeles, San Fran was viewed as a contender and trading away key assets wasn’t moving the ball closer to the pin. And Aiyuk wasn’t even a quarterback, the most valuable position in all of sports.
The same scenario could play out in Los Angeles. Another week of rumors, of speculation, all for the news to break that Matthew Stafford and the Rams have agreed to a new two-year deal worth $100 million. And all that time and energy debating and wondering if Pittsburgh could land Stafford and contend in the AFC is for naught.
There’s at least one silver lining. This saga shouldn’t drag on the way Aiyuk’s did. No team can wait around to resolve quarterback issues. The Rams need to get their ducks in a row. So does Pittsburgh. Reporting indicates this should be wrapped up in the next two weeks ahead of the new league year, meaning we only have to wonder for a little while longer to see if the Steelers are Charlie Brown, racing towards the football, and if the Rams are Lucy, pulling it away as she watches him fall flat on his back.
Alex Kozora
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