Breaking: 49ers trade DeForest Buckner to Colts for first-round pick
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers are moving Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts, according to reports from Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter.
Minutes after the San Francisco 49ers announced they’d officially re-signed defensive end Arik Armstead to a lucrative five-year deal, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Niners were trading Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts.
Schefter added the 49ers would get Indianapolis’ first-round NFL Draft pick, No. 13 overall, in return:
Trade AND deal: Colts trade first-round pick (13th overall) to 49ers for All-Pro DT DeForest Buckner, who already has agreed to a massive contract that pays him $21 million a year and makes him the second-highest paid DT in NFL history behind only Aaron Donald, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
Also, as part of the exchange, Buckner will get quite a hefty payday from the Colts, who have far more available in cap space than San Francisco. Before the trade was announced, the Niners had just under $10 million in cap space ahead of the new deal for Armstead.
The trade now clears up $12.378 million Buckner was scheduled to make on his fully guaranteed fifth-year option, according to Over the Cap.
Buckner, a 2018 Pro Bowler, managed 7.5 sacks last season along with a stacked 49ers defensive line, which included Armstead, defensive end Solomon Thomas, and EDGEs Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. Precisely how this shakes up San Francisco’s D-line moving forward is anyone’s guess, although one has to figure it opens up the door for Thomas, another former first-round pick, to assume a larger role in 2020.
Still, turning away from arguably the most consistent piece within the Niners defensive front is a tough pill to swallow.
There’s some speculation the 49ers were going to have a tough time re-signing Buckner once his fifth-year option wrapped up, particularly in regards to the team’s current cap situation. According to one report, Buckner turned down a previous offer from San Francisco.
One might guess that had something to do with the Niners ultimately deciding to move on from their top pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Now armed with two first-round picks in the 2020 draft, the 49ers can focus on landing some high-impact talent, considering general manager John Lynch still has zero selections between Rounds 2 and 4 after making trades last year for Ford and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
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Still, it’s a tough pill to swallow, as Buckner was one of the more popular and well-liked players on San Francisco’s defense in recent years.
Yet the Niners defensive line still remains a stacked unit, and it’ll hopefully be able to replicate his production well enough this upcoming season and in future years.