49ers trade rumors: Dee Ford, Kwon Alexander on the block?

In some interesting San Francisco 49ers NFL rumors news, a report from The Athletic’s Michael Lombardi suggested linebacker Kwon Alexander, EDGE Dee Ford and safety Jaquiski Tartt could be on the trade block.

The San Francisco 49ers already shook up their roster earlier this offseason by trading away Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for the No.13 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

But according to The Athletic’s Michael Lombardi, Niners general manager John Lynch isn’t necessarily done yet.

Citing sources from teams around the league, Lombardi reported San Francisco was putting linebacker Kwon Alexander, EDGE Dee Ford and safety Jaquiski Tartt all on the trade block to go along with veteran wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who has seemingly been on the block for much of the offseason already.

As far as clearing up cap space, the 49ers have $13,367,799 available right now, according to Over the Cap. Roughly $8 million of that is scheduled to be used for the 2020 rookie draft class, leaving around $5 million in surplus.

And with the team looking to engineer a massive extension for tight end George Kittle in the near future, clearing some space makes sense.

Why would the 49ers move key parts of their defense?

It’s a good question. San Francisco made Alexander a top free-agent target a year ago, then restructured his contract last November. His cap hit for 2020 is just over $4.5 million, but that number jumps up significantly to $16.5 million in 2021.

Plus, with second-year linebacker Dre Greenlaw filling in admirably for Alexander during the latter’s elongated pectoral injury a season ago, one might wonder if Alexander has become something of an excess defensive commodity.

At least to an extent.

Likewise, Ford also suffered some notable injuries over the course of 2019 and never truly emerged as the top-tier pass-rusher the 49ers were hoping for when they traded with the Kansas City Chiefs for him. While Ford did amass a solid 6.5 sacks on the season, he also missed all but 11 games and was largely relegated solely to pass-rushing downs.

In this regard, it could be the Niners are hoping for a more reliable option, potentially at a cheaper rate. Who? Well, that’s anyone’s guess.

Tartt, meanwhile, is entering a contract year. His immediate backup, Marcell Harris, has shown an ability to defend well against the run. Yet he’s not so much of a quality pass defender, which would hinder an already questionable San Francisco secondary entering 2020.

Yet if the 49ers have zero intentions for re-signing Tartt beyond this season, perhaps putting him on the trade block now makes some sense to recoup some draft capital in return.

Especially considering San Francisco has zero picks between Rounds 2 and 4 in the NFL Draft.

One thing which is important to note here is teams often float rumors like this all the time. And no player, regardless of his value or importance to any team, is completely off the trade block. Everyone has a trade value assigned to him.

It’s just a matter if another team is willing to offer whatever that price is. So, the moral of the story? Don’t read too much into it right now.