Brandon Aiyuk didn’t want the Patriots. The San Francisco 49ers star spurned them, and the ransom they were willing to pay to make a trade happen.

At least that was the biggest takeaway smacking everyone in the face Tuesday night when news broke courtesy of Mike Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area that the Patriots pulled out of the Aiyuk sweepstakes in part because the receiver “showed no interest” in heading to New England.

Talk about a gut punch.

The Patriots were by most accounts hell-bent on bringing Aiyuk to Foxborough. They had come up with the framework of a deal the 49ers rubber-stamped, setting the wheels in motion. And they were in the high-rent district – reportedly willing to hand over a salary that averaged $30 million annually – to win over Aiyuk and beat out the competition.

But with Aiyuk eventually making it clear he wanted no part of the Patriots, no matter how much money they were willing to throw at him, enough was enough.

Instead of allowing Aiyuk and the 49ers to continue to use them as a stalking horse, the Patriots smartly got out of the race. They bid a hasty retreat before officially losing out to the Steelers, Browns or whoever Aiyuk ultimately deems as his next team.

The Patriots also did their best to put a happy face on the failed mission. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who broke the news that the Patriots were no longer exploring trade possibilities with the 49ers with respect to Aiyuk, the team was instead “excited about their young receivers and want to focus on them.”

Still, Aiyuk’s rejection was a tough pill to swallow. It was another wake-up call as to how far the team has fallen. With Tom Brady no longer in the huddle, Bill Belichick no longer calling the shots on the sidelines and championships almost a distant memory, the Patriots have lost most of their luster.

Aiyuk basically shouted from the rooftops that New England was no longer a desired destination.

Earlier in the year, the Patriots didn’t land free-agent receiver Calvin Ridley largely because there’s no income tax in Tennessee, and Ridley’s significant other supposedly preferred going to Nashville. They also made a competitive offer to him but it didn’t matter. He chose the Titans.

That’s also what happens when you’re a four-win team with a new head coach that lacks stars and relevance on the NFL landscape.

The Patriots are well aware they have to deal with the ramifications that go with being in the middle of a rebuild. They know they need more talent. Specifically, Eliot Wolf & Co., in charge of player personnel, know they need to acquire more talent on offense, specifically receiver and tackle.

As they’ve discovered, getting them is another matter.

“There’s always a sense of urgency to get good players,” Coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday. “Everyone talks about young quarterbacks and surrounding him with good players. Look, we have an older quarterback (Jacoby Brissett) and we want to send him in with good players as well. We’re going to put the best product or the best team out there.”

For now it will be without that difference-making receiver.

While the thought of the Patriots landing Aiyuk seemed like a dream from the outset, the genie was out of the bottle by Monday night with discussion of trading Aiyuk ramping up in San Francisco, and the Patriots included in the narrowed field of trade partners. A short time later, it’s tough to reconcile the genie disappearing.

It quickly went from excitement over the possibility of the Patriots finally landing a bonafide No. 1 receiver, to depression over having the dream scenario taken away.

Thoughts of Brissett, but more importantly Drake Maye having a legitimate weapon in the arsenal were dancing through the heads of Patriots fans. The notion of the Patriots’ young core of receivers potentially being aided by a top gun, and Maye having a better chance to succeed whenever he stepped in, had provided such a boost.

Instead it’s a reality check.

The Patriots made an honest attempt, but it made no sense to continue being pawns in the grand scheme of things. So in the end, this was nothing more than a cruel tease. The Patriots are back to square one. Instead of having both the quarterback and difference-making receiver locked up from the to-do list, they still lack two important cornerstones for the offense.

Not only are they without a top gun wideout, they also desperately need a franchise left tackle.

The addition of Aiyuk would have sped up the rebuild process. He would have done so much to jumpstart a Patriots offense that scored a woeful 13.9 points per game last season.

“From Eliot and my perspective, we’re always trying to get better, no matter what position we’re talking about, no matter how those guys get here, whether it’s through cuts or through trades or whatever, we’re always looking to improve our team and win now,” Mayo said.

With no other apparent avenues to land a top receiver or a stud left tackle, the Patriots will likely have to wait until next year’s draft to gain the desired assets.

As for luring prized free agents, that’s going to involve much more. The Patriots have to show progress before they can score the type of talent they need to completely turn this around.

It’s not always about being willing to spend the money. That revelation was Aiyuk’s parting gift.