Denver Broncos were given chance to make Brandon Aiyuk trade happen

Travis Wakeman

Denver Broncos were given chance to make Brandon Aiyuk trade happen image

The San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk have finally agreed on a contract extension but the 49ers were quite close to trading their wide receiver. San Francisco was willing to make the deal but only if they received a top-flight wide receiver in return. 

They approached the Denver Broncos about helping them there, according to NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic

The Broncos turned down a third-round pick for their No. 1 wide receiver Courtland Sutton, which negated a trade in which the Pittsburgh Steelers would have acquired Aiyuk. 

What is left out of that news is when the Broncos were offered this trade. If it was earlier this summer, it was solid value for Sutton. If it was recently, such as after the team cut down to 53 players, it's understandable as to why the team would say no to that deal. 

The Broncos kept only five wide receivers on the roster, two of which are rookies. They also chose to part ways with veteran Tim Patrick, a move that not many Broncos fans loved. 

Broncos took a top passing game weapon away from Russell Wilson

Had this trade gone down, the Broncos would have been out their top wide receiver from last season and Aiyuk would have been in Pittsburgh catching passes from Russell Wilson. 

Sutton and Jerry Jeudy were on the trade block seemingly all of last season and the Broncos agreed to send Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March. But they didn't feel comfortable getting rid of Sutton, who caught 10 touchdown passes a season ago, even for a premium draft pick. 

It had been reported that the Steelers had agreed to the framework of a deal to acquire Aiyuk. If this was the same deal, the Broncos pulled the plug. 

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Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.