Conflicting Reports Might Hurt Patriots’ Brandon Aiyuk Hopes

The New England Patriots appear to be in good position for a chance at acquiring Brandon Aiyuk, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on who they're competing with in the market.

NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday reported New England and the Cleveland Browns worked with the San Francisco 49ers on a framework for an Aiyuk trade. The deals include Kendrick Bourne and Amari Cooper, respectively. And while the Pittsburgh Steelers were thought to be involved in trade discussion, they seemingly are out of the picture.

Perhaps they aren't really?

NFL Media's Tom Pelissero reported on the "Rich Eisen Show" that there are more than two teams involved in trade discussions. Pelissero's fellow NFL Media colleagues Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo reported the Steelers were one of the other teams still involved in trade discussions.

ESPN's Adam Schefter speculated on the "Pat McAfee Show" that while Pittsburgh checked in with San Francisco, he doesn't believe it is an Aiyuk landing spot. That X video post later was deleted as later Tuesday, the NFL insider reported that Pittsburgh and San Fran re-engaged in trade talks after those discussions stalled Monday.

So who's wrong, and who's right? We don't exactly know. What does seem clear is that the Niners and Aiyuk camps likely are trying to send out their flyers to the media to throw the scent of where the star wideout actually decides to sign since the decision ultimately comes down to him.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo took the Bill Belichick path when it came to the Aiyuk trade rumors, but Eliot Wolf and his staff reportedly have been working on a deal for months.

It would be more ideal for New England if it had fewer suitors to compete against, but the fact that a team like the Steelers still might be involved could force Wolf's hand both the Patriots' trade deal and contract extension aren't up to par compared to their competitors.