The 49ers have had success with trades over the years, but they’ve also made some awfully strange moves that backfired. Here are the 10 worst trades ever.
In the 2017 NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch executed a trade with the Chicago Bears to move down from No. 2 overall to No. 3 in the order. The move was considered brilliant at the time, fleecing the Bears while getting the player the Niners wanted all along, defensive end Solomon Thomas.
Yet Thomas not panning out, while San Francisco passed on all-star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson who were taken later, stained the trade.
It wasn’t all bad, though. The 49ers still managed to use one of those picks acquired from the Bears to land All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner a year later. So in that regard, it was still a good trade.
But Lynch hasn’t always had success with his trades. And there have been plenty of others throughout the team’s history that, at least in hindsight, should never have been made.
Here are the 10 worst trades the Niners have executed, and hopefully this list stays put for a long, long time.
No. 10: 49ers move up in 2017 NFL Draft to grab C.J. Beathard
Perhaps one of the reasons why San Francisco passed on Mahomes and Watson was because, at least according to later reports, former Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard was the only signal-caller head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted in that year’s draft.
In Lynch and Shanahan’s first year taking over the franchise, one would figure they’d need all the draft ammunition they could get. And while Beathard was pegged by most draft analysts as a fifth- or sixth-round pick, the 49ers somehow convinced themselves to trade back into the latter stages of Round 3, grabbing Beathard at No. 104 overall.
In doing so, the Niners sent off a fourth- and a seventh-round pick.
That’s not a lot of draft ammo to give up, no. But Beathard could have been had much later. And the fact his career record as a starter is 2-10 through 2020 only suggests this trade is one the Niners would like to have back.
Even if they would have preferred to grab Beathard later on instead of Round 3.
No. 9: 49ers move up to grab Corey Lemonier in 2013 NFL Draft
Fortunately for John Lynch and Co., there are plenty of other general managers who did much worse with San Francisco’s trade efforts.
Fans will probably cringe at what former general manager Trent Baalke did to the roster from 2012 through 2016, considering he inherited a Super Bowl-caliber squad that was awfully dominant during the early portion of that span.
Yet while Baalke was known for stockpiling picks, only to frequently use them on injured players, one of his other bad moves was to move up from No. 93 overall in Round 3 of the 2013 NFL Draft to No. 88 overall by sending the Green Bay Packers a seventh-round selection.
Again, not a bad move in of itself. But the player Baalke selected, former Auburn pass-rusher Corey Lemonier, ended up being a complete bust.
True, Lemonier flashed in 2011 with the Tigers, accumulating 9.5 sacks that year. But those abilities never translated over to the pro level. Lemonier was frequently pushed beyond the pocket by merely OK offensive linemen, and he’d amass just a single sack during his three-year stint with the 49ers before being jettisoned in 2016.
Considering how lacking the Niners roster was with talent in 2015 and 2016, the miss on Lemonier hurts in so many ways and has to be included on this list.
No. 8: 49ers trade away their GOAT quarterback, Joe Montana
From a logical perspective, it made sense for San Francisco to trade Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993. The 49ers already had his heir apparent in place, Steve Young, and it’s only the nature of the business to get both younger and cheaper. It’s called roster turnover.
Perhaps that’s why Montana being dealt to Kansas City shouldn’t rank any higher on this list. It wasn’t a bad deal in itself. The Niners acquired safety David Whitmore and a first-round NFL Draft pick in return, and that pick would later be used as part of a package to land an eventual San Francisco stalwart, defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield.
If anything, though, the Montana trade was made infamous because it signaled the end of the franchise’s dynasty years of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Although transitioning to Young worked out pretty well.
Yet the 49ers surely thought Montana was nearing the end when they executed the deal, and Montana’s rift with Young at the time wasn’t exactly pretty. At least for Montana, he had two successful years in Kansas City to round out his Hall of Fame career.
But it doesn’t mean this trade was easy to swallow for the fanbase, neither then nor now.
No. 7: 49ers put a massive package together to draft Steve Spurrier
We’ve got to go back a ways in Niners history to break down this 1967 move, which saw San Francisco put together a lucrative package to move up to the No. 3 overall spot in that year’s NFL Draft.
The package included offensive guard Jim Wilson, offensive tackle Jim Norton and wide receiver Bernie Casey being sent off to the Atlanta Falcons. And with that third-overall pick now in their arsenal, the 49ers grabbed former Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier.
The interesting thing, though, was the Niners already had a quality quarterback in John Brodie. And San Francisco would still stick with Brodie for a long time after drafting Spurrier, which the latter admitted affected his desire to compete.
“I was not a very ambitious player,” Spurrier said in his autobiography, Head Ball Coach: My Life in Football.
Instead, Spurrier started just six games over his first five years with the 49ers, and the franchise was forced to use him as a punter for much of that span. Even when Spurrier got some chances to start in 1972, he was far from effective and finished with a mere 61.2 passer rating during his quarterbacking days with the Niners.
Moving up to No. 3 overall for what essentially ended up being a punter and backup quarterback? Yeah, that was bad.
No. 6: 49ers get a flop by drafting Kentwan Balmer in 2008
The mid and late 2000s is an era most San Francisco fans would like to forget, and one particular NFL Draft choice that’ll forever live in team infamy was the 2008 first-round selection of former NC State defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer.
Balmer was seen as a pocket-wrecking force out of college, and the 49ers were on their way to solidifying what was an up-and-coming defense.
So, seeing Balmer as a likable option, then-general manager Scot McCloughan moved a second- and a fourth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for their first-round pick, No. 29 overall, to grab Balmer.
But Balmer quickly flamed out, never amassing on the field because he was seen as primarily a 4-3 defensive tackle and was being asked to play a 3-4 defensive end. On top of that, he apparently disappeared from training camp two years later after amassing just 19 tackles and zero sacks over his first two seasons in San Francisco.
The 49ers subsequently dealt him to the Seattle Seahawks, and Balmer’s NFL career was already in the decline at that point.
McCloughan generally hit on a lot of his picks. But in this case, making Balmer the post-trade target was clearly the wrong move and awfully infamous.
No. 5: 49ers take a chance by trading up for Reuben Foster
The Niners knew they were taking a big risk in the 2017 NFL Draft when they had their eyes on Alabama star linebacker Reuben Foster, who had the talent to be a top-10 pick but was also accompanied by both injury and off-field concerns.
Those surely influenced 30 other teams to pass on him during what was otherwise a pretty stacked draft class in Round 1.
Yet when San Francisco, already having selected Solomon Thomas earlier, decided to trade back into the round by sending off a second- and a fourth-round pick to the Seahawks in exchange for the No. 31 overall pick, grabbing Foster there appeared to be an absolute steal.
Early on, it looked like that was the case. Foster was a playmaking force all over the field, and it was appearing as if the 49ers finally had their heir apparent for linebacker Patrick Willis, who retired two years earlier.
But those legal issues came back to bite Foster in 2018, as multiple arrests and run-ins ultimately led to his premature dismissal from the team in November of that year.
It was a gamble, yes. And the Niners knew it. They took a chance and were burned by the result.
Perhaps only the fact San Francisco didn’t use its first overall pick that year saves this from being ranked higher on any bad trade-package list.
No. 4: Dee Ford trade handcuffs the 49ers
There’s no doubting EDGE Dee Ford was a significant part of the 49ers making it to the Super Bowl in 2019.
While Ford only appeared on 22 percent of the defense’s snaps that year and was healthy for just 11 regular-season games, the Niners’ pass-rushing depth that season was a key component, and Ford’s presence on the field made a massive difference in the team securing a total of 48 sacks, Ford getting 6.5 of them.
San Francisco acquired Ford from the Kansas City Chiefs the previous offseason, sending away a second-round draft pick before subsequently inking the pass-rusher to a five-year, $85 million extension after he had a career-best season in 2018.
A dangerous move. And one that came back to haunt the 49ers not long afterward.
Ford missed all but one game in 2020 while dealing with multiple injuries, most notably a back injury, and those setbacks put his 2021 campaign in serious doubt. What made things worse is the contract carried an injury guarantee that prevented the Niners from simply cutting him and making him a cap casualty in 2021.
Set to earn over $20 million in 2021 with no guarantee he’d even be available to play makes this deal one of the worst moves John Lynch executed during his tenure.
No. 3: 49ers send away Y.A. Tittle to the Giants in 1961
San Francisco’s first great quarterback was the Hall of Famer, Y.A. Tittle.
By 1960, Tittle had already accumulated four Pro Bowl selections and one first-team All-Pro nod, leading the 49ers to a playoff berth in 1957 and cementing himself as one of the league’s greats before the NFL’s modern era kicked in.
But by 1961, the Niners thought the 34-year-old Tittle was on the decline. They had already started experimenting with another up-and-coming quarterback, John Brodie, and it certainly looked as if Tittle would be sent packing as his career wound down.
Well, Tittle was sent packing. But his career was far from over.
San Francisco moved Tittle to the New York Giants for second-year guard Lou Cordileone. Cordileone would spend only one season with the 49ers before moving on, while Tittle would forever cement his career as a Hall of Famer in New York.
In 1961, Tittle earned his fifth Pro Bowl nod and then secured two more in 1962 and 1963 where he’d also be named a first-team All-Pro again, leading the league in touchdown passes for both seasons.
And while the Niners would do well enough with Brodie under center, it’s safe to say they gave up on Tittle far too soon.
No. 2: 49ers shift NFC balance of power to Cowboys with Charles Haley
San Francisco knew it had a future Hall of Famer within its ranks with EDGE Charles Haley during the late 1980s. The former fourth-round NFL Draft pick out of James Madison turned into a perennial 10-sack player who would always threaten to lead the league in sacks any given year.
Despite his talents, though, Haley generally wasn’t liked within the 49ers locker room. Numerous run-ins with fellow players and the coaching staff began to take their toll in the early 1990s, and it was becoming evidently clear the situation was no longer tenable.
So that led to the Niners executing one of those trades that forever shifted the balance of power within the conference, moving Haley to the Dallas Cowboys in August of 1992 for a second- and third-round NFL Draft pick the following year.
That move proved to be the final piece the Cowboys needed to take over from San Francisco’s own dynasty.
Haley would go on to win three Super Bowl rings in Dallas after securing two already with the 49ers, and he also added two more Pro Bowl nods to his already impressive accolade sheet.
More importantly, though, the move essentially signaled the end of the 49ers dynasty. And while the Niners were good enough during the 1990s, it was the Cowboys’ decade to reign supreme.
Thanks largely to this infamous trade.
No. 1: 49ers trade for an aging, washed-up O.J. Simpson in 1978
For those thinking Trent Baalke was the worst general manager in Niners history, think again. That not-so-great accolade should belong to former GM Joe Thomas, who made a mess of the team in the late 1970s before head coach Bill Walsh finally came into the picture.
One of Thomas’ worst moves didn’t make sense than, and it certainly wouldn’t make sense today.
More from Niner Noise
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
- Updated 49ers salary cap space ahead of 2023 NFL Draft
By 1977, Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson was clearly on the decline. At 30 years old, he was no longer a threat to be the league’s leading rusher in any given year, and injuries had already begun to take their toll on his body.
Nevertheless, perhaps in a move to boost the fanbase’s interest, Thomas traded a first-round draft pick, two second-round picks, and a third- and a fourth-round pick to Buffalo to grab Simpson.
Imagine a general manager doing that for a 30-year-old running back today. He wouldn’t stay at his job for long after that. Neither did Thomas.
At least part of the moves paralleling Simpson’s acquisition was the 49ers netting wide receiver Freddie Solomon, who’d go on to be a vital part of the franchise’s first Super Bowl some years later.
But Simpson was more than lackluster during his final two years in the NFL, never averaging more than 4 yards per carry with the Niners before he eventually went on to… well, other things.