The New England Patriots are out of the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes, but it certainly isn't for lack of trying.
After reportedly having the framework of a deal in place with the San Francisco 49ers to acquire Aiyuk, the Patriots have decided not to explore further trade possibilities for the All-Pro wide receiver, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday night.
Schefter noted the Patriots are "excited about their young receivers" such as second-year wideout DeMario Douglas and rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, but according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, another factor led to the team standing down: Aiyuk simply didn't want to come to New England.
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"Aiyuk showed no interest in accepting New England’s contract terms to finalize the deal," Maiocco reported Tuesday night.
Aiyuk's lack of interest came despite the Patriots' willingness to pay up for the 26-year-old wideout. Per Maiocco, the Patriots were "prepared to offer the largest deal" among the teams pursuing Aiyuk and were willing to pay him more than $30 million per year on a new contract.
That would have made Aiyuk, who's set to make $14.1 million on the final year of his current deal, one of the NFL's five highest-paid wide receivers: Only four wideouts -- Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyreek Hill -- make an average of $30 million or more per year.
So, its sounds like the Patriots did all they could to acquire Aiyuk, but Aiyuk essentially squashed the deal.
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That could be a reflection of New England's bleak offensive situation: The team went 4-13 last season with one of the NFL's worst offenses, and its top two quarterbacks are a career backup/spot starter (Jacoby Brissett) and an unpolished rookie (Drake Maye). The Patriots haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver in five years (Julian Edelman in 2019), so there isn't much appeal for high-end skill players in Foxboro.
Then again, Maiocco reports Aiyuk also isn't keen on joining the Cleveland Browns, who reportedly had the framework of a trade with the 49ers as well. According to Maiocco, Aiyuk "made it clear" during the offseason that the Pittsburgh Steelers are his preferred destination. Considering the Browns were a playoff team last year, maybe this is more about Aiyuk preferring the Steelers than eschewing other teams based on talent.
Either way, it's back to square one for the Patriots, who also were in the running for Pro Bowl wideout Calvin Ridley in free agency but fell short in that pursuit as well.