For those in Pittsburgh who have been intrigued by the idea of the Steelers acquiring wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, don’t hold your breath.

On Monday, San Francisco general manager John Lynch was asked about Pittsburgh media reports stating that the Steelers are investigating a potential trade for the 49ers second-team All-Pro.

The conversation appeared to be a non-starter.

The rumors of a Brandon Aiyuk trade to Pittsburgh are false. "We want him to be a part of the Niners, so we're going to work towards making that a reality." John Lynch #49ers pic.twitter.com/zK3CsRJxD4

— Tracy Sandler (@TracyFGSN) March 25, 2024

“I’m sorry to disappoint them,” Lynch said with a laugh. “I was just with Mike Tomlin at the Michigan pro day. Mike coached me (in Tampa Bay), so we’re very close. And he’s, like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I said, ‘I promise you, there’s nothing going on there.’ We’re actively talking with Brandon, trying to figure something out.”

Aiyuk is coming to the end of his rookie contract, and he wants an extension. However, the 49ers don’t usually hammer out contract extensions until July or August. It appears Aiyuk may be drumming up trade interest so he can secure one quickly with another team via a deal instead of waiting to see if the Niners will extend him before training camp.

“We have a good history of working with the guys we want to get done. To get something done, it takes two sides. So can we do that? We’ll see,” Lynch continued. “There’s a number of different directions that it could go. But we appreciate the heck out of Brandon, and who he is as a player and we want him to be a part of the Niners. So we’re going to work towards making that a reality.”

I’m not quite sure how to read this social media rebus from Aiyuk. But it was posted after Lynch’s comments, and I wouldn’t exactly interpret it as, uh, complimentary.

#49ers GM John Lynch spoke about Brandon Aiyuk earlier today….

Seems like Aiyuk is responding on his IG story… pic.twitter.com/Zq4gqshXmo

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 25, 2024

It was Aiyuk’s social media activity that got a lot of the trade conversations going earlier in March when he started following Trevor Lawrence and some other Jacksonville Jaguars on Instagram. Some trade rumors emanated from that city as a result shortly thereafter.

Then Aiyuk really got the ball rolling on the Pittsburgh front with this post tagging Tomlin after a picture of the two side-by-side got some play on the internet.

@CoachTomlin they saying we twins. What you think ? ????

— BA (@THE2ERA) March 19, 2024

Brandon Aiyuk is Mike Tomlin with extensions ???? pic.twitter.com/s0AgIwPq40

— Mike Daddino (@mike_daddino) February 15, 2024

Tomlin was asked about his Aiyuk doppelganger status on Monday at the NFL meetings in Florida.

“I’ve heard a lot of that recently,” Tomlin replied.

I’ll stand by what I said about Aiyuk last week. If there is any fire to the smoke about Aiyuk potentially being trade bait, the Steelers should fan the flames — even if Lynch is publicly dousing them with cold water.

After all, the Steelers are desperate at wide receiver, and if Aiyuk were to somehow wind up in Pittsburgh, he’d instantly become the club’s No. 1 target. Yes, even before George Pickens. That’s unless Pickens were to somehow eventually prove that he can raise his maturity and receiving polish to match his ridiculous physical skill set.

The Aiyuk conversation definitely highlights the vacancy that currently exists on the Steelers after the Diontae Johnson trade. Who can be a steady No. 2 receiving complement to Pickens now that Johnson is in Carolina? The recent acquisitions of Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins don’t fit that bill. Neither does third-year player Calvin Austin.

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I raised an eyebrow Sunday when Tomlin said that Johnson didn’t ask for a trade. If that’s true, (and, of course, it may not be) then I wouldn’t have traded him.

If Johnson wasn’t a malcontent trying to push his way out of town, then there was very little reason to deal him. At least I would’ve sought a better return than just Donte Jackson. He’s a corner the Panthers were likely to have cut if the Steelers didn’t take him off their hands.

I’m not wild about Johnson, but I think he is a better pass catcher than Jackson is as a defensive back. Now, the organization has no clear-cut way to offset Johnson’s loss on the offensive side of the ball.

And if they are looking for gold from San Francisco to be the answer in the form of Aiyuk, it sure sounds like Lynch is telling the Steelers to mine for it somewhere else.

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