49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk called off Steelers trade at last second

After an 11th-hour meeting with Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan ran through the team’s facility to stop a pending trade that would have sent the wide receiver to the Steelers, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported Sunday.

San Francisco and Pittsburgh essentially had a deal in place before Aiyuk re-signed with the Niners on Aug. 29 on a four-year contract extension worth $120 million.

“How’s this for a scoop that nobody knows? The day it actually got done, the 49ers were trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was en route there,” Glazer said during the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. “And then all of a sudden, Brandon Aiyuk happened to show up early to the facility that day. He went downstairs and tried to meet with Kyle Shanahan.

“Kyle Shanahan was trying to get in touch with the front office, but they couldn’t take his call, because they were trying to get the trade done to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So Shanahan actually ran all the way upstairs and said ‘hold it, let’s put a hold on these trade talks right now. Pittsburgh, we’ll call you right back.’”

Shanahan, GM John Lynch and other front office members went back downstairs and spoke with Aiyuk “for about two hours” and gave him an ultimatum to prevent the trade from happening.

“They said, ‘Look, you have until the end of practice, we’re either trading you to Pittsburgh today or you can take the deal that’s been on the table. It’s up to you, but you have until the end of practice.’” Glazer said. “[Aiyuk] said, ‘this is where I want to be,’ so Brandon Aiyuk remains a 49er.”

Pro Football Focus ranked Aiyuk the second-best wide receiver in the NFL last season behind Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins. The 26-year-old former first-round pick posted 75 receptions for 1,342 yards (17.9 average) and seven touchdowns.