NFL Rumors: Steelers-Aiyuk last hurdle, Chiefs trade issue, Cowboys RB trade buffet

We are now just a few short weeks away from week one of the NFL regular season. NFL fans have been waiting for months for the return of football and that day is finally almost here.

While the days tick by, ever so slowly, the drama around the league is as hot as ever. There are still superstar caliber players like Brandon Aiyuk and CeeDee Lamb that are holding out in hopes of finding contract extensions before suiting back up.

We saw years ago with Le'Veon Bell that these hold outs can easily drag on into the season.

NFL Rumors: Cowboys have plenty of RB options to trade for

The Dallas Cowboys have the potential to be a train wreck heading into the 2024 season. As of now, their superstar wideout, CeeDee Lamb is holding out in hopes of being inked to a huge contract extension. I can't blame him given his incredible workload over the past few seasons.

The Cowboys running back room is also as shallow as it's been in a long, long time. For years, Dallas leaned on Elliott before Tony Pollard took over as the team's lead back for a year. Pollard is now gone and Elliott is back in Dallas.

But beyond Elliott, who is on the older side of starting running backs, Dallas doesn't have much. This is where the trade market comes into play.

Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report put together a list of potential trade pieces from every team. On that list were running backs Javonte Williams of the Denver Broncos, AJ Dillon of the Green Bay Packers and Dameon Pierce of the Houston Texans, all of which would upgrade the Dallas running back room tremendously.

The Cowboys could be in the market for a running back in the coming weeks, especially if Lamb continues his holdout.

Having Elliott and a few unproven running backs just isn't enough in this era of physical, injury-filled football.

NFL Rumors: Lucas Niang listed as trade candidate with a catch

The Kansas City Chiefs are defending Super Bowl Champions, and they come into 2024 with huge expectations for themselves. The roster is as talented as it's ever been, and Patrick Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the league.

But before then, they have some players that may be cut or traded before the season even begins. One of the players that could be moved in the coming weeks, according to Bleacher Report's Ryan Fowler, is offensive tackle Lucas Niang.

"Teams that are able to ignore his injury history could take a flier on the 25-year-old Niang, banking on his upside and the possibility that he could develop into a solid starter, should he stay healthy," Fowler wrote.

Niang has struggled with injuries though. Making a deal for him would come with a big catch as there's really no guarantee that he ever even makes it to the field. While talented, the best ability is availability and it would be quite hard to get his value back in the trade market given the health question marks that surround him.

NFL Rumors: 49ers-Aiyuk continue to try to work on contract extension, Steelers on hold

It seems as though all of the Brandon Aiyuk reports that are emerging from both sides are the same. It's something like this:

Aiyuk wants to get paid in the range of $30 million per season. The San Fransisco 49ers refused to offer that, so Aiyuk requested a trade out to a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers where they would give him the money, specifically guaranteed money, that he feels he deserves. Days go by and the Steelers are able to put together a trade to acquire Aiyuk as well as an extension for the wideout. All they need is the okay from San Fransisco.

So now the 49ers are turning up the heat on their extension talks with their wide receiver, as ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports.

The 49ers are trying their best to make sure Aiyuk stays long-term. In fact, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday that Aiyuk would prefer to stay with the 49ers "all things being equal."

"From what I've been told, Brandon Aiyuk would prefer to stay with the 49ers and has always prefered to stay with the 49ers all things being equal," Garafolo said, h/t Sports Illustrated. "Now, they haven't been equal. But both sides sent proposals the last couple days, and the 49ers' number has gotten better than what it was previously. From my understanding, they have agreed on a lot of the main points of the deal. Their offers are in line. It sounds like there's just one more thing that needs to be ironed out. And if that thing gets ironed out, Aiyuk signs the deal, he stays with the 49ers, he drops the trade request and finally the 49ers can put this situation behind them."

It seems as though Aiyuk may have been using his holdout and trade request for leverage. There's no doubt that he would want to play elsewhere if the team wouldn't offer him the money he wants. So, it's up to Aiyuk to decide if the 49ers are giving him what he's looking for.

If the 49ers hold their ground, Aiyuk will hold his as well until he's dealt to Pittsburgh. The most likely scenario seems as though San Fransisco will be the one to crack which could result in them issuing Aiyuk a similar deal to what the Steelers would extend him on.