Brandon Aiyuk reportedly didn't want to play for the Patriots
FOXBORO -- Roughly 24 hours after it was reported that the Patriots had a trade in place to acquire Brandon Aiyuk, New England's pursuit of the receiver came to an abrupt end. Despite New England making a big-money offer to Aiyuk, he apparently didn't want to play for the Patriots.
Patriots end pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk
ESPN's Adam Schefter was first to report Tuesday night that the Patriots "have decided not to explore any further trade possibilities" with San Francisco for Aiyuk. This came about 24 hours after it was reported that the Patriots and Browns had made trade offers that the 49ers were willing to accept.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area broke the story Monday night regarding the Patriots and the Browns, and he piggybacked on Schefter's report Tuesday night, adding that the Patriots made a "large offer" to Aiyuk. Earlier in the day, ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss reported that the Patriots were "aggressive" in their pursuit of Aiyuk and willing to make him one of the top five highest-paid receivers in terms of annual average salary.
Brandon Aiyuk reportedly didn't want to play for New England
But in the end, Aiyuk didn't have any interest in playing for the Patriots, according to Maiocco. It doesn't sound like any amount of money would have got him to come to New England. Aiyuk prefers to land with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to a number of reports.
The Patriots had an agreement in place with the 49ers and a large offer to Aiyuk on the table, but he did not show interest in going there. https://t.co/A9saTjG2bI
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 7, 2024
That's the reality the Patriots live in these days. For years, they were able to get players to take less money for the chance to play with Tom Brady and for Bill Belichick and compete for a Super Bowl. Now, not even a truckload of cash is enough to get top talent to New England.
The Patriots also made a big offer to Calvin Ridley in free agency, but in the end the receiver may have just been using them to get a bigger deal from the Titans. He ended up signing a four-year, $92 million deal with Tennessee that includes $50 million guaranteed.
With the Patriots coming off a 4-13 season and in the early days of a rebuild with a rookie head coach, they are not an appealing destination right now. They may not be for a few years unless Drake Maye shows that he is a legit, stud quarterback that can play at a high level sometime in the near future.
Eliot Wolf and company tried their hardest to get Brandon Aiyuk to New England to give this offense a real jolt. Aiyuk would have given the team a true No. 1 receiving option and a lot more buzz heading into the season.
Instead, we are reminded again that players don't want to come to New England right now.