Ahead of the NFL trade deadline after Week 9, front offices across the league are doing their due diligence to either acquire talent or cut ties with players they no longer deem to be a fit.
The San Francisco 49ers and general manager John Lynch are no strangers to this process. In fact, they already conducted business earlier this week, trading for former New England Patriots defensive lineman Keion White in exchange for a 2026 6th-round pick. Even with this deal, they may not be done making moves. On Thursday, Lynch met with the media to discuss potential future activities.
49ers’ General Manager On Additional Trades
While meeting with reporters, Lynch said, “We never say never” to more trades, but “we’d like for whoever we trade for to be here for more than this year… We also don’t want to eat into our draft picks too much.”
Notably, the 49ers own one pick each in the first, second, third, and sixth rounds, as well as four fourth-round picks in 2026. They are without their fifth and seventh round selections.
Lynch’s reservations about losing additional picks are completely understandable, as the more picks they give away, the harder it is to retool the team in the offseason. On the opposite side, the more help they bring in now, the better their short-term outlook is.
Additionally, Lynch expressed hesitance in making further moves due to the non-guarantee that said player would be a part of the team past 2025. More often than not, teams are more willing to part with players on expiring contracts, which not only sets the players’ value back but also puts the acquiring team in an interesting situation: resign the player you traded for, or let him walk?
49ers’ Earlier Trade and Pass Rush Group
The acquisition of White comes while the 49ers await the return of edge defender Bryce Huff, who currently has four sacks through seven games and a PFSN EDGE impact grade of 80.2. Among all applicable 49ers edge rushers, Huff’s grade ranks first above both first-round rookie Mykel Williams and Sam Okuayinonu, who have grades of 66.0 and 61.8, respectively.
The 49ers’ top edge rusher sustained a hamstring injury during their Week 7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons and was ruled out for Week 8 – a game they lost on the road against the Houston Texans. His status for Week 9 remains in question as the 49ers look to bounce back against the New York Giants.
Until then, the newest member of the 49ers, White, will most certainly have to step up regardless of whether Huff is active.
