NFL trade deadline 2022: Everything 49ers fans must know

The 2022 NFL trade deadline is just around the corner, so let’s brief 49ers fans on the rules and all the other need-to-know information.

The NFL trade deadline doesn’t quite pack the same punch as other professional leagues. There aren’t always the blockbuster deals that go down like in Major League Baseball or in the National Hockey League, and football teams aren’t always privy to giving up prized assets to grab half-year rental players for a hopeful playoff push.

Unless that team is the Los Angeles Rams, of course.

Still, there’s never a shortage of speculation when it comes to the NFL trade deadline, and recent years have seen San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch pull some strings to move talent.

Perhaps the greatest recent trade the Niners engineered at the deadline was grabbing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back in 2017, stabilizing the position and landing a franchise signal-caller who (when healthy) would be under center all the way through 2022.

Two years later, during San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl, Lynch was at it again and landed former Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to help spark what was an underachieving receiving game.

Again in the midst of another playoff hunt, Lynch and Co. may look to be buyers at this year’s NFL trade deadline, potentially taking advantage of other teams whose records indicate they won’t be playing January football.

However, the deadline is approaching for any inter-team deals to be made.

When is the 2022 NFL trade deadline?

The 2022 NFL trade deadline is officially at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 1, which takes place after Week 8.

The 49ers visit the Rams that week.

All trades must be registered with the league office by that point, and no trades are allowed to take place after the deadline until the start of the league new year in the spring of 2023.

Can teams trade a player who has a no-trade clause?

As part of contractual negotiations, some players are able to work a no-trade clause into their respective contracts.

This doesn’t bar teams from actually trading that player, though. Instead, that player can simply waive his no-trade clause if he feels the team acquiring him is worth going to.

What are the NFL trade deadline rules?

Aside from the hard date on which the trade deadline hits, there are a number of rules surrounding trades that are governed by the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and player’s union.

Two rules are of particular interest:

• After the trade deadline, should a team release a player, he’ll be subject to waivers, which goes by the reverse order of standings. If a player isn’t claimed, he becomes a free agent and can sign with any team.
• If a player is traded, all the contractual language (clauses, bonuses, base salaries, etc.) transfers over to the new team.

Read More: 49ers could move this one player at 2022 NFL trade deadline

Will 49ers trade for anyone at the 2022 NFL trade deadline?

The Niners don’t have a first-round NFL Draft pick in 2023, thanks to the 2021 move-up and subsequent selection of quarterback Trey Lance.

They do, however, have each of their picks in Rounds 2 through 5, as well as two seventh-round selections, including one acquired from the Broncos.

Lynch could feasibly use any combination of those selections, or even future picks, as well as moving players to trade for another team’s player and/or draft capital.

Whether or not Lynch engineers that kind of move or not will be a notable focal point between now and the deadline on Nov. 1.