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The New England Patriots had interest in Brandon Aiyuk, but it appears the feeling wasn't mutual.
San Francisco agreed to a trade framework with both New England and the Cleveland Browns earlier this week, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reported, citing a source. But now the Patriots reportedly have backed out of a trade with the 49ers.
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ESPN's Adam Schefter joined "SportsCenter" on Tuesday night where he discussed why trading for Aiyuk is so complicated, pointing out that any interested team not only has to satisfy the 49ers' demands, but also Aiyuk's as well.
Schefter then reported that New England, after receiving permission to negotiate a contract extension with Aiyuk as part of the deal, did not get a sense the star receiver was keen on playing for the Patriots.
"And well, New England had the parameters of a trade in place with San Francisco, that wasn't the issue," Schefter said. "But they weren't getting a great vibe here as they tried to conduct communication with Brandon Aiyuk and his agent. And the longer it went on, the worse they felt about it and eventually they said 'What are we doing here? let's just focus in on the young receivers we have.'
"They feel like they're excited about him and rather than go ahead and give up a huge amount of compensation to the 49ers after or being going ahead to give up what would be a big contract to Brandon Aiyuk that he didn't seem overly receptive about getting. They said we're just going to stand pat and stand down and so the Patriots have bowed out and they will not be pursuing any further trade for Brandon Aiyuk."
San Francisco 49ers
New England was prepared to offer Aiyuk a contract that paid him more than $30 million per year, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reported in his latest column Tuesday night, citing two sources.
NFL insider Josina Anderson also reported Wednesday morning, citing a source, that New England's offer was more than $28.5 million per season and that the Patriots themselves believe Aiyuk's preferred destination is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who reportedly recently re-engaged with the 49ers on a trade for Aiyuk.
It remains to be seen where Aiyuk will play next season, and until he decides to either agree to a trade elsewhere or accept San Francisco's latest offer, all teams involved are in a bit of a holding pattern.