It’s unclear whether or not the 49ers look to move any assets this season, but these three players could end up on the trade block anyway.
The San Francisco 49ers may not be in a position where they can afford to part ways with too many excess players who no longer fit in the long-term scheme of things in 2021 and beyond. If anything, all the injury attrition suffered last year is proof that stockpiling quality depth is almost as necessary as having a roster comprised of top-performing starters.
That said, general manager John Lynch has never been shy about trading openly on the market, whether it’s involved moving up or down in the NFL Draft, acquiring players from other teams or even sending off Niners players in package deals elsewhere.
A point of note is San Francisco has seven draft picks in 2022 but none in Round 1 after moving up to No. 3 overall in this year’s draft. So there could be ample reason right there to stockpile some mid- or late-round picks next year to at least onboard some new talent.
With so many current players on the 49ers offseason roster back on one-year deals, it might make sense to start guarding against some additional free-agent attrition in 2022 by increasing draft capital.
As such, don’t be surprised if Lynch and the Niners end up putting a few players on the trade block between now and the NFL trade deadline, anticipated to be on Nov. 2 this year.
It’s not likely these three players are moved in the immediate future. But with San Francisco’s overall context likely to change in the coming months, don’t be surprised if Lynch makes a few calls to see if these three wind up garnering any interest on the open market.
No. 3: 49ers Left Guard Laken Tomlinson
It’s rare for teams to trade for players entering the final year of their contract. But what’s common is for playoff-caliber teams to suffer a good deal of injury attrition along their offensive lines as the regular season moves along.
If this happens to be the case in 2021, the 49ers may explore a trade attempt involving their current starting left guard, Laken Tomlinson, who’ll be a free agent next year but has been one of the more reliable and available linemen the Niners have had since being acquired from the Detroit Lions back in 2017.
According to Over the Cap, San Francisco is still committed to Tomlinson’s $1.59 million in guaranteed money and will owe him just over $330,000 in voided bonus years between 2022 and 2024.
But with a per-game roster bonus of $400,000, it’s not hard to see how moving Tomlinson by the deadline could free up a good deal of cash.
At 29 years old, Tomlinson still has a few more years of quality football left in him. And guards don’t tend to be expensive re-signs anyway.
From the 49ers’ vantage point, they recently drafted Notre Dame guard Aaron Banks, who’ll likely compete for the chance to start at right guard this season but primarily played left guard in college. Should that swap take place after a would-be Tomlinson trade, it’s likely Daniel Brunskill once again assumes a starting job at right guard, thereby making Tomlinson an odd man out.
Tomlinson might not command much in return, perhaps nothing higher than a Round 4 pick. Yet that asset could prove to be valuable as part of a trade-up package next year.
No. 2: 49ers Running Back Raheem Mostert
Just like trading for a player entering his contract year, teams also aren’t overly willing to reach for aging and injury-prone running backs getting close to 30 years old.
From that vantage point, it would be difficult for the Niners to move veteran running back Raheem Mostert, who just turned 29 years old and is coming off a 2020 campaign limited to just eight games because of injuries.
Still, Mostert remains a valuable commodity. The 2020 NFC Championship win over the Green Bay Packers proved how he can take over a game, and the fact Next Gen Stats listed him twice the fastest ball-carrier last year only reinforces the speed element of his game.
San Francisco spent the offseason stockpiling its running back room, adding Wayne Gallman in free agency before drafting Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell in Rounds 3 and 6, respectively. Sermon is already seeing a good deal of use during offseason workouts and could figure to take a lot of snaps away from Mostert this season.
Read More: What to expect from running back Trey Sermon in Year 1
Another caveat here is depth running back Jeff Wilson Jr., whose meniscus injury will keep him out four to six months but make him eligible for a possible late-season return.
If Wilson is poised to return healthy and the 49ers are getting quality production from players like Sermon, Mitchell and Gallman, Mostert becomes something of an excess commodity.
Not likely to be a part of their long-term plans, the Niners would be wise to see if some halfback-needy team would be willing to offer up a day-three pick for Mostert at some point near the NFL trade deadline.
No. 1: 49ers Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
Let’s make one thing clear: Rookie quarterback Trey Lance isn’t going to take over for the starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, right out of the gate this season.
True, Lance is starting to show the flashes of being a potential NFL game-changer. There are reasons why San Francisco aggressively moved up for him in this year’s draft, and head coach Kyle Shanahan fully intends to give Lance the starting job whenever the quarterback reaches that point where he can help win games as effectively as Garoppolo.
San Francisco 49ers
Just don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.
But the situation and context could be entirely different by late October. Lance might have closed the gap, and there just as easily could be other teams out there looking to nab a quarterback. Either due to injuries to starters or because their current signal-callers are floundering, putting pressure on front offices.
From the 49ers’ standpoint, they’d want to sell high, moving Jimmy G for the best possible return compensation. With $2.4 million in dead money the next two years but a 2022 cap hit of up to $27 million, getting out from under Garoppolo’s contract sooner than later could help free up some much-needed cap space the Niners could then use to re-sign or extend other key players, such as linebacker Fred Warner or EDGE Nick Bosa.
A midseason trade might not be likely, especially if an experienced Garoppolo gives San Francisco the best shot at a deep playoff push right now.
But the all-too-important context could easily change between now and the trade deadline, and there’s still a reasonable chance Garoppolo winds up being dangled as trade bait at some point in 2021.