Should the 49ers trade Brandon Aiyuk to the Steelers for Darnell Washington?

The Steelers have been trying to sign Brandon Aiyuk all offseason.

If they had offered the 49ers a first-round pick in exchange for Aiyuk, he would probably be a Steeler right now. However, they may still have an opportunity to trade for him in a few months if the 49ers’ contract negotiations with Aiyuk do not progress.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay proposes that the 49ers trade Aiyuk to the Steelers in exchange for a 2025 first-round draft pick and tight end Darnell Washington.

“The first-round pick should get the 49ers’ attention,” Kay writes, “while adding Darnell Washington — the powerful quarterback Pittsburgh drafted last year with the No. 93 overall pick — could sweeten the deal enough to get the deal done. Washington’s rookie stats may not jump out of the blue, but the rugged 6-foot-7-inch, 264-pound athlete could flourish in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s creative attack in San Francisco. The 22-year-old immediately found himself in the role of a capable blocking playmaker, with the advantage of replacing George Kittle as the main attacker down the line.

This is an intriguing offer. The 49ers have been looking for a replacement for Kittle for a long time, and Washington has the talent to be that player. He was selected in the third round of the draft last year and if not for injury concerns, he would have been selected earlier.

But Washington had just seven catches as a rookie last season and just 45 total catches in college. Replacing Aiyuk, an All Pro wide receiver, with a tight end who has 52 catches since high school is extremely risky.

If the 49ers wanted Washington, my guess is they would have made this trade a long time ago.