Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle was the first to report that the Baltimore Ravens have traded center Jeremy Zuttah to the San Francisco 49ers. Minutes later, the move was confirmed by the 49ers. The two teams have exchanged sixth-round draft picks as part of the deal. As a result, the 49ers move down 12 spots in the sixth round.
Ravens trade Jeremy Zuttah to 49ers, exchanging sixth-round draft picks
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 15, 2017
"Kyle and I are firm believers that competition brings out the best in everyone," said 49ers general manager John Lynch via a statement issued by the team. "We also believe that you can never have enough good offensive linemen, and Jeremy has certainly proven to be a very talented player having earned a Pro Bowl selection last season."
Baltimore was set to release the center in order to gain some cap relief but found a trade partner in the 49ers instead. Zuttah had been the team's starting center over the last three seasons.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense puts the task of protection calls on the center and not the quarterback, as explained by quarterback Brian Hoyer back in January. In Atlanta, veteran center in Alex Mack was brought in for that role while Shanahan was the Falcons' offensive coordinator.
Daniel Kilgore started the 2016 season as the 49ers' starting center. He suffered a hamstring injury during a loss to the New York Jets and finished the season on the injured reserve list.
Zuttah, 30, was a third-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers. In March of 2014, Zuttah was traded from Tampa Bay to Baltimore in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He finished the 2015 season on injured reserve due to a torn pectoral.
In 2016, Zuttah was named to his first Pro Bowl after starting all 16 games for Baltimore. During his nine-year career, the veteran has appeared in 131 games, with 117 regular season starts and two playoff starts during that time.