NFL trade deadline 2022: One player 49ers could move by Nov. 1

The 49ers aren’t in selling mode leading up to the 2022 NFL trade deadline, but they do have excess at one particular position, and this player could be moved.

After a slightly rocky start to the 2022 season, the San Francisco 49ers appear to have righted the ship and are poised to make a strong push into the playoffs.

Granted a 3-2 record five weeks into the year isn’t a guarantee for a postseason berth. But, with the rest of the NFC West struggling and the Niners tightening their grip on first place within the division, it’s undoubtedly seeming more likely that head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad is playing January football.

However, long before playoff seeding starts to become a primary focus, San Francisco will be exploring possible deals to be made with other teams ahead of the 2022 NFL trade deadline.

The 49ers aren’t poised to be sellers yet, and it doesn’t seem that’ll be the case unless Shanahan and Co. endure something like a three-game losing streak between now and the NFL trade deadline itself at the beginning of November. If anything, general manager John Lynch might consider being a buyer, looking to shore up the current roster with much-needed depth and talent.

Yet there’s one player the Niners may consider trying to trade away by the deadline.

NFL trade deadline: 49ers could trade TE Ross Dwelley

No blockbuster deals to report here, but the idea of trading away depth tight end Ross Dwelley does make a good deal of sense.

Dwelley, who has served as All-Pro tight end George Kittle‘s primary backup since 2019, has fallen out of favor a bit to fellow tight end Charlie Woerner over the last year-plus. Woerner had a larger share of the 2021 snap count than Dwelley, and as Pro Football Network’s Dallas Robinson pointed out, the same is shaping up to be the case this season, too:

"Dwelley had been the preferred backup to George Kittle in 2019 and 2020, but the tide started to turn in 2021 when Charlie Woerner began to see increased playing time. That trend has continued this season, as Dwelley has played only 60 snaps to Woerner’s 106. San Francisco also has Tyler Kroft on its roster, so Dwelley could be expendable."

One might have thought San Francisco would let Dwelley walk in free agency last offseason, yet it re-signed him to a one-year deal. But that was before acquiring Kroft.

Read More: Ranking 49ers’ 10 worst trades in franchise history

And with the latter looking to make a return to the lineup after missing time with an injury, Dwelley indeed becomes expendable.

Now, teams don’t typically trade for one-year rental players unless they’re of high caliber, and a would-be Dwelley move wouldn’t exactly move the needle for a team picking him up. It’s also not if the 49ers would get much in return, perhaps nothing higher than a sixth- or seventh-round NFL Draft pick at best.

Possibly even a late-round pick swap.

Regardless, if there’s a player the Niners could feasibly move, Dwelley makes sense.

The 2022 NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 1.