The NFL trade deadline is just under two weeks away and a 3-3 start with a slew of injuries could push San Francisco to be active. Head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t changed his standard answer for any trade scenarios though and didn’t divulge anything one way or the other on the 49ers’ potential activity in the trade market.
Shanahan several times during the offseason when Deebo Samuel trade talk was at its heaviest, and throughout his tenure with the 49ers, has indicated the club will at least look at any potential trades that arise. That remained his answer Wednesday.
“I know we look into everything, so if there’s something that makes sense that we can pull off, I know we’ll never hesitate to do that,” Shanahan said. “It’s a hard thing to do, I think for all teams, but that’s something we always look into.”
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is the hot name on the trade market this year and reporting from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero and Yahoo’s Charles Robinson indicate at least an interest in McCaffrey from San Francisco. Whether there’s any real potential for a deal remains to be seen, but it’s not a surprise the 49ers would explore that option since Shanahan’s common refrain is that the team will do any move they think gets them closer to a championship.
A more realistic move will probably make smaller waves than McCaffrey. San Francisco did make a move for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in 2019, which is perhaps the most notable in-season trade they’ve made. Other acquisitions have been players like DE Jordan Willis and DE Charles Omenihu. Those are depth pieces at a premium position that the 49ers believe are undervalued and acquired for late-round draft compensation.
There may or may not be a trade executed by the 49ers ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline, but as per usual, they’ll look into anything that might come up.
