NFL trade deadline 2022: 4 last-second trades 49ers could pull off

NFL trade deadline move No. 3: 49ers trade for Steelers DT Larry Ogunjobi

It’s no small coincidence the Niners defense, particularly against the run, started to leak a lot of oil when it lost both of its starting interior defensive tackles, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, to lengthy injuries.

Kinlaw is now on injured reserve, while Armstead has missed four weeks in a row with a foot ailment.

There’s a chance neither returns this season.

San Francisco has spent plenty of assets shoring up the defensive line, including adding defenders like Hassan Ridgeway and Charles Omenihu between the NFL trade deadline last year and now. But a quality run-stuffing defensive tackle who also offers up an interior pass rush would be desirable.

Read More: 3 more players 49ers can look to move at NFL trade deadline

Considering the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t going anywhere this season, their offseason pickup of defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi won’t be intended as a long-term fix, and moving him for some building blocks would be the wiser move.

The 49ers can afford the prorated amount of Ogunjobi’s one-year, $8 million deal, and they won’t have to commit anything to him in 2023 either. And there’d be the possibility of him netting a compensatory pick, should he sign for a qualifying amount elsewhere this offseason.

More importantly, though, the Niners would plug that gap in the middle of the D-line that has been vacated by Armstead and Kinlaw.