Reports late Monday night said that the New England Patriots had agreed to the framework of a trade that would land them San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk for a package that would include wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. Aiyuk was reportedly deciding between the contract offers from New England and the Cleveland Browns.
However, after the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly re-entered the trade conversation, New England has pulled out of the discussions, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Schefter says the Patriots are "excited about their young receivers and want to focus on them."
NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco followed Schefter's report saying that despite the teams agreeing to a deal and a large contract offer on the table from New England, Aiyuk "did not show interest in going there."
New England drafted two wide receivers this year (Ja'Lynn Polk in the second and Javon Baker in the fourth) and two last year (DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte both in the sixth), but it's hard to imagine anyone in their group producing the way that Aiyuk has in his NFL career.
The addition of Aiyuk really would've helped the third overall pick in this year's draft adjust to the NFL. Instead, quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye will have to make do with what they have at the moment, which will make things more difficult for them in 2024.
