The simple reason why 49ers didn't trade for Davante Adams or Amari Cooper

Wide receiver trades are flying around the NFL, but the 49ers weren't involved in any of them. There's a straightforward reason why.

Superstar wide receivers Davante Adams and Amari Cooper are on the move.

On Oct. 15, deals were announced for the respective Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns wideouts, as Adams is heading to the New York Jets to reunite with his former quarterback from their Green Bay Packers days, Aaron Rodgers, while Cooper is off to the Buffalo Bills.

Not long ago, earlier this offseason, the San Francisco 49ers were linked to both.

Despite some recent resurfacing of Adams would-be trade rumors to the Niners, that front remained largely quiet once San Francisco extended its top wideout, Brandon Aiyuk, just before the regular season.

And the Cooper rumors involving the 49ers briefly flashed when the Pittsburgh Steelers were reportedly hot on a would-be trade for Aiyuk.

But that's it.

From the Niners' perspective, it could have made sense to land either player, especially when looking at the compensation and the fact San Francisco is in win-now mode.

The 49ers could have given up that draft capital with ease for either player. And, with the most amount of cap space in the league right now, the Niners could have absorbed either player's money due in 2024. Yes, including Adams, who carries zero in guarantees starting next year.

But San Francisco didn't pull the trigger on finalizing a deal for either player?

Why?

Turns out, the answer is pretty simple.

49ers don't need either Davante Adams or Amari Cooper

The Aiyuk extension changed everything for the 49ers. An already-potent offensive cast, led by Aiyuk, fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle, has only been bolstered in 2024 by the emergence of tertiary wideout Jauan Jennings.

That doesn't even include the fact rookie first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall, nearly recovered from a frightening gunshot wound suffered just before the preseason, has yet to take the field.

Putting things bluntly, the Niners are overstocked at the position. Sure, they'd be open to upgrades, and one could argue Adams is a superior receiver to anyone San Francisco has on its current roster. But, considering the 49ers would have to eat a significant amount of change in dead money if they moved either Aiyuk or Samuel to make room for Adams, a deal simply wouldn't be worth it.

Additionally, while Aiyuk's production in the stat department has been relatively slow to start the year, his presence has nevertheless opened up opportunities for both Jennings and Samuel to have big games.

And Aiyuk seems to be trending in the right direction anyway.

The Niners have a complete wide receiver room with a promising rookie waiting in the fray for his chance to shine, and they also need to keep that cap space as savings for quarterback Brock Purdy's soon-to-be massive contract extension. In turn, that'll require hitting on those future draft picks (and the cheap rookie contracts associated with them) that otherwise would have been sent off for either Adams or Cooper.

Sometimes, the best deal made is the one that isn't.

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