The San Francisco 49ers were quiet at the trade deadline on Tuesday, electing not to make any additional moves, despite rumors of them looking for a pass-rusher.
They did make a move one week earlier, sending
a 2026 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for defensive lineman Keion White and a 2026 seventh-round pick. But, there was the thought that the 49ers would look to add some more pass-rush juice, especially after the team lost first-round pick Mykel Williams for the season.
Instead, San Francisco stayed pat, electing not to pay the high prices for potential targets such as Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson or New York Jets pass-rusher Jermaine Johnson. Of course, standing pat at 6-3 didn’t go down well with much of the fanbase, who viewed the thought process as the 49ers ‘waving the white flag’ due to their injury situation.
Why did the 49ers not make any additional moves at the deadline?
“I don’t think [staying pat] has to do with how we viewed this year’s team,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said about the deadline. “I think we worked just as hard this year to make a trade that made sense for our team this year and next year, just as hard as we do every year. There are a lot of teams with records like 6-3 or better that didn’t make any big trade. Just because you make a big trade doesn’t mean it’s always a smart move.
“There’s a lot of risk that goes into it, not just for this year, but throughout your whole future. I was excited we were able to make one that we felt really good about last week and getting Keion. I know we looked into a ton of them, but the asking price was too much on all of them.”
The reported asking price for Hendrickson was a first-round pick, which certainly seemed hefty for a one-year rental, while Johnson’s reported asking price was a second-round pick, which also was on the higher side, even with two years of team control (fifth-year option in 2026).
There were some contenders who made moves, though, as the Philadelphia Eagles sent a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for pass-rusher Jaelen Phillips, who is on an expiring contract and had three sacks this season.
The 49ers weren’t one of them, however, and will move forward with some serious depth concerns along the defensive line with Mykel Williams out for the year and Yetur Gross-Matos experiencing a setback. The good news is that Bryce Huff is expected to return this week, but the 49ers have been a bottom-10 defense in EPA/play and in both sack and pressure rate since losing star Nick Bosa.
Without any reinforcements, it seems like that will be tough to change down the stretch, and especially if the 49ers make the playoffs, where they’ll face some of the best teams in the NFL.
While the 49ers didn’t make a move, the Seattle Seahawks did look to bolster their receiving core, sending fourth and fifth-round picks to the New Orleans Saints for Rashid Shaheed. We’ll see which approach works out better as the season goes on.
