Jimmy Garoppolo, 3 others 49ers should have on trade block
By Peter Panacy
49ers trade-block player No. 2: Kevin Givens
Reserve nose tackle Kevin Givens is a good player. Proven, too, and San Francisco discovered this back in 2020 when it lost then-starter D.J. Jones for a chunk of that season, allowing Givens to emerge with a 19-tackle, three quarterback-hit and one-sack campaign.
Not bad for a player who was pegged solely to be a back-end-of-the-roster guy.
Jones is gone now, joining the Broncos in free agency this offseason, yet the 49ers’ defensive line remains as deep as ever, and it’s likely the Niners fill Jones’ void with defensive tackles like Javon Kinlaw, Maurice Hurst, Hassan Ridgeway and, once he’s cleared from a 2021 ACL tear, rookie Kalia Davis.
This doesn’t leave much room for Givens to hang around as a reserve. But, if the Niners manage to feature him nicely during the preseason, they could take advantage of the upside flashed in 2020 as well as his awfully cheap $895,000 due in 2022.
Like Jonas Griffith, a would-be Givens trade wouldn’t command much of anything in return, perhaps little more than a late-round pick swap. And interior defensive linemen tend to be pretty easy to find on the free-agent scrap heap anyway.
Still, taking advantage of the D-line surplus and trying to trade away Givens would make a lot of sense if possible.