49ers unlikely to swing big trade
Draft picks seen as key to provide cheaper help
Just before the NFL’s trade deadline a year ago, the 49ers were 60, and they traded for Pro Bowl wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to help make a Super Bowl run.
Just before the trade deadline this season, they are 33 — and it appears unlikely a similar splash is coming to make a playoff push.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked this week about the 49ers’ potential activity at the Nov. 3 deadline, and the questioner referenced the team’s desperate need for a pass rusher.
Shanahan noted that general manager John Lynch and the rest of the front office will do their due diligence. However, he strongly suggested a Sanderslike move isn’t forthcoming by frequently mentioning the 49ers’ reticence to surrender 2021 draft capital.
Another factor he didn’t mention: The 49ers are up against the salary cap, and their upcoming offseason financial challenges make it unlikely they’ll add a bigmoney player in a season that looks unlikely to end in the Super Bowl.
“They’re always having that ( trade) dialogue to see where people are at, but action doesn’t always happen,” Shanahan said Monday. “I know we’re not in the mood to just be giving up a bunch of our draft picks, either.
“We had to do that last year to make a number of key moves that I think helped us. But we don’t want another
draft to where we don’t have too many picks. So it’s real important for us to keep our draft picks.”
On Wednesday, the 49ers made a minor trade for a pass rusher that highlighted how intent they are on preserving draft picks for next year: They dealt a 2022 sixthround pick to the Jets in exchange for Jordan Willis and a 2021 seventhround pick, NFL Network reported.
That is, the 49ers gained a 2021 draft pick while trying to add passrush help. It’s not clear how much assistance Willis, 25, can provide. The 2017 thirdround pick of the Bengals was waived by Cincinnati last year, has three sacks in 43 games and played just 46 snaps for the winless Jets this season.
But it’s the type of lowwattage move Shanahan hinted was the most likely before the deadline.
“If we find any situation where the right guy’s there who we think can help us this year — and without risking hurting us in the future — that’s something I don’t think we’d ever hesitate at, and we’d look forward to doing it,” Shanahan said. “But those things don’t always come up.”
Even before the team’s uneven start to the season, Lynch noted the 49ers would face challenges in sustaining their success, given future salarycap constraints.
They have about $ 4 million in cap space this season, have about $ 167 million in salarycap commitments in 2021 and have several players who will be free agents. That wasn’t a major issue before the coronavirus pandemic, but the projected loss of revenue this season means the cap could fall from $ 198.2 million to $ 175
“If we find any situation where the right guy’s there who we think can help us this year ... that’s something I don’t think we’d ever hesitate at.”
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach, on the trade market
million in 2021. It was projected to rise to about $ 215 million.
The 49ers won’t be able to keep all their free agents, a group that includes left tackle Trent Williams, cornerback Richard Sherman and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and they will need to replace some with young and relatively cheap employees obtained through the draft.
The 49ers surrendered their 2021 thirdround pick in their offseason trade for Williams, and they sound determined to avoid having a skimpy draft class for a second straight season.
Last year, they traded a secondround pick for pass rusher Dee Ford before they dealt a thirdand fourthrounder for Sanders, receiving a fifthround selection in return. They made other predraft moves — notably trading DeForest Buckner to the Colts for a firstrounder in March — but the net result was that they had just five draft picks in April, their fewest since 1997.
Of those selections, only their top two picks, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, figure to make a significant impact this season. Guard Colton McKivitz, tight end Charlie
Woerner and wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who is on the practice squad, have played 39 total offensive snaps.
The lack of contributions from rookies is tied to the 49ers’ decision to go allin last year, a decision Shanahan has said he doesn’t regret.
However, based on what Shanahan said this week, they’ll be making a different decision at this season’s deadline.