49ers could trade one of these 5 players before 2023 season starts

The 49ers haven't been shy about trading players between the preseason and Week 1, and these five could find themselves on the move.

One of the more entertaining aspects about my job is being paid to comb through comments and replies from the general public.

And nothing gets more provocative than trade talk.

It shouldn't take you long to peruse through Twitter, Facebook, Reddit or any comments section on any San Francisco 49ers article to eventually find some trade discussions. And one trend you'll probably see quickly is that it's easy to suggest trading the Niners' worst players away to some team while getting something substantial in return.

Remember, if you're going to trade for something, you have to give up something the other team wants, too.

Disclaimers aside (that felt good to explain), San Francisco hasn't been shy about executing pre-Week 1 trades before, perhaps the most recent being linebacker Jonas Griffith in a trade with the Denver Broncos, as Griffith had an excellent preseason but wasn't going to make the 49ers' 53-man roster.

Could one of these Niners wind up being on a similar path prior to Week 1?

Note: All contractual/cap information, courtesy of Over the Cap (because this matters)

49ers trade candidate No. 1: DT Javon Kinlaw

The other half of the argument is acknowledging that teams aren't likely to give up assets for players who'll probably be free agents in a year's time anyway.

San Francisco has already said it won't pick up the fifth-year option for defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, which means he'll be a free agent in 2024 if the 49ers don't re-sign him. Considering his chronic knee issues that have limited him to just 10 regular-season games the last two seasons, it's hard imagining any other team offering up more than day-three NFL Draft compensation in return for Kinlaw.

Yet the Niners may want to move him anyway, particularly to open up roster spots for depth players behind their starting two defensive tackles, Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead, while also freeing up $2.72 million via the trade.

Particularly if San Francisco is acknowledging its top pick from the 2020 draft no longer has a future in the red and gold.