A team as loaded as the 49ers might be all done dealing ahead of the NFL trade deadline. They added defensive end Randy Gregory from the Broncos and look mostly set up and down the roster.
Typically a team like that would be a prime candidate to lay low at the deadline, especially considering how expensive the roster already is. With a league-high $39,962,048 in cap space and an abundance of draft capital though, San Francisco could be players for virtually any player that hits the trade market.
We ran through some of the players that may potentially be available and picked out six that the 49ers should at the very least kick tires on before the October 31 deadline:
Broncos OT Garrett Bolles
It’s clear that offensive line help is the 49ers’ biggest need. Unfortunately for them it’s not easy to find quality offensive linemen on the trade market. Bolles might fit the bill though if he’s capable of moving to the right side. He’s only ever been a left tackle since college, so swapping sides may not even be an option.
Let’s assume for a moment he can do that though.
It would give San Francisco an immediate upgrade on the opposite side of Trent Williams. Bolles is also under contract through 2024 with no guaranteed money left on his deal for next season. As quality offensive tackles go his $20 million scheduled cap hit in 2024 wouldn’t be awful, and it would buy time for either Colton McKivitz to develop or for the 49ers to land on a better long-term option.
Vikings DE Danielle Hunter
Buckle up, this won’t be the only defensive end on the list.
The Randy Gregory trade probably takes the 49ers out of the running for a player like Hunter, who is a free agent after this season. He’s been dominant in 2023 though with 21 pressures and eight sacks per Pro Football Focus.
Adding him to an already strong pass rush would set the 49ers up to withstand either an injury on the defensive front, or an injury offense where Hunter could help elevate their defense significantly enough that they can withstand a major offensive step backward.
Had the 49ers wanted to snag Hunter they probably would have done so by now, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on if Gregory or any of San Francisco’s other DEs struggle at some point in the two weeks before the trade deadline.
Panthers DE Brian Burns
Told you about the volume of DEs!
Burns feels like more of a pipe dream than Hunter. He’s just 25-years old and could still conceivably be a piece the Panthers want to build around. Stalled out contract talks before the year don’t instill a ton of confidence in his long-term future.
It’s unlikley the 49ers could pay Burns to stick around beyond 2023, but the 2019 No. 16 overall pick could have an outsized impact this year. Last season he posted 13 sacks and 68 pressures. This year he’s at 15 pressures and five sacks for the worst team in the league. His length and athleticism would fit nicely on the edge of Kris Kocurek’s defensive line. Adding him would be an all-in move, and San Francisco should at least see if Carolina will entertain an offer.
Jets DE Carl Lawson
Okay, last DE, we promise. The last one is perhaps the most likely as well.
Lawson is in the final year of his contract and would cost the acquiring team less than $2 million.
His 2023 campaign has been a disaster. He’s played in four of New York’s six games and has two pressures with no sacks. This is a player who last season a career-high eight sacks on 49 pressures a season ago. There’s talent there, and it’s easy to see the 49ers trying to take him on as a reclamation project in exchange for a late-round pick swap. If it doesn’t work, he’s a free agent in 2024 and the 49ers can move on.
Patriots TE Hunter Henry
Okay the DEs are all done! It’s tight end time.
The next evolution of the 49ers’ offense is one that has multiple TEs on the field. Think Kyle Juszczyk but less downhill, i-formation blocking. It’s clear neither Ross Dwelley nor Charlie Woerner are capable of filling in as a reliable, consistent receiving threats. Henry is just an okay run blocker, but he’s a far better receiver than either of the other TEs playing for San Francisco and he’s in the final year of his contract.
Perhaps their plan at some point is to unleash seventh-round rookie Brayden Willis, but that doesn’t look to be in the cards. Acquiring Henry from New England might be just enough offensive help for them to maximize their already extremely versatile unit. This season Henry has just 18 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns, but in the four previous years he averaged 52 catches for 594 yards and five touchdowns per season.
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
Isaiah Oliver has played well enough that the 49ers probably feel good about their secondary. Depth is a problem though. Samuel Womack is already on injured reserve and Ambry Thomas has struggled in his various bits of playing time.
Johnson is in the final year of his rookie contract and would cost virtually nothing against the cap. The 2020 second-round pick of the Bears struggled out of the gate and allowed 11 touchdowns his first two seasons. Last year he only allowed one and notched seven pass breakups per Pro Football Focus. He’s earned his highest-career coverage grade at 80.9 and his highest-career overall grade at 79.0.
If San Francisco wants to part ways with a mid-to-late-round pick to get Johnson in the building, it could either bolster its starting group or the depth in the cornerback room.
