The NFL trade deadline passed quietly for the 49ers, who made no deals Tuesday and move forward with a 6-3 record despite considerable losses due to injury.
Common sense suggests the 49ers were in the market for a pass rusher, having lost both former Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and first-round draft pick Mykel Williams to torn ACLs. They have just 11 sacks in nine games, two of them coming in a 34-24 win over the New York Giants.
Instead, unwilling to get a player on an expiring contract as a “rental” or cut into their 2026 NFL Draft, the 49ers will rely on their own roster unless they add a street free agent or claim someone off another team’s practice squad.
A blockbuster deal for the likes of Myles Garrett of Cleveland, Maxx Crosby of the Raiders or Trey Hendrickson of Cincinnati — all top pass rushers on losing teams in search of draft capital — wasn’t practical given what Bosa is already being paid in future seasons after signing a $170 million, five-year extension in the days leading up to the 2023 season.
Garrett and Crosby have surpassed Bosa in terms of average salary, and Hendrickson is scheduled for free agency in 2026.
“Of course, we want someone to help us out this year, but I’d love it not to be at the expense of our team next year also,” coach Kyle Shanahan said last week. “I know we all feel that way and hopefully we can find a situation that does both, and if not, you don’t do something just to do it. I’m really excited about the guys we have in our building right now.”
Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were in lockstep heading to the deadline.
“We like whoever we trade for to be here for more than just the end of this year,” Lynch said last week on KNBR. “We also want to keep our draft, we don’t want to eat into that too much but also wanted to bolster our team for this year.”
The 49ers’ lone move was sending a sixth-round pick to New England on Oct. 28 for end/tackle Keion White, who was a second-round pick in 2024 but not considered a fit with the defensive scheme brought in by coach Mike Vrabel. The 49ers also got back a seventh-round pick in the deal.
White played 33 snaps after getting three practices before the Giants game and played more at tackle than he did at end. The 49ers also signed Clelin Ferrell to the practice squad and elevated him for the game. Ferrell had a sack and appears destined to be signed to the 53-man roster with Williams headed for injured reserve.
Defensive ends who were moved Tuesday that fit into the 49ers’ price range were Dre’Mont Jones (from Tennessee to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick) and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (from Cleveland to Chicago for a sixth).
Other defensive linemen who were considered trade possibilities, such as Kayvon Thibodeaux (New York Giants), Carl Granderson (New Orleans), Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee) and Bradley Chubb (Miami) were not moved.
In previous years since Shanahan and Lynch arrived in 2017, the 49ers added players to a contending team ahead of the deadline. They got wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from Denver in 2019 for fourth- and sixth-round draft picks, Christian McCaffrey in 2022 and a fifth-round pick in exchange for second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks and defensive end Chase Young from New Orleans in 2023 for a third-round pick. Defensive end Randy Gregory also arrived pre-deadline from Denver for sixth- and seventh-round picks.
Left tackle Trent Williams had his fingers crossed following the Giants game that the 49ers would add to their roster.
“I’m always hopeful the front office will continue to do what they’ve always done and that’s put us in the best position to be a championship football team,” Williams said. “I know John Lynch will work his magic. If not, we have what we have in this locker room and we think that’s enough.”
Currently, the 49ers have picks in the first through fourth rounds as well as the seventh. They’re also expected to be awarded three compensatory picks in the fourth round because of free agent losses in 2025.
Next up for the 49ers (6-3) is a Sunday NFC West showdown with the Los Angeles Rams (6-2) at Levi’s Stadium (Fox, 1:25 p.m.)