As the trade deadline approached last year, the San Francisco 49ers were engaged in trade talks with the Denver Broncos to acquire wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. The Niners saw him as a player who could help them win a championship, and the team nearly did that but fell just short in Super Bowl LIV.
Could general manager John Lynch and the 49ers make a similar move this season? This year's trade deadline is on November 3.
"John and his group, they're always looking into all possibilities on that stuff," head coach Kyle Shanahan shared with reporters on Monday. "I mean, they're watching film on the whole league day in and day out. And they're always on the phone and stuff, whether it's John or other guys, some of the scouts, or whoever. They're always having a dialogue to see where people are at.
"Action doesn't always happen. We're not in the mood to just giving up a bunch of our draft picks either. We had to do that last year to make a number of key moves that I think helped us, but we also don't want another draft to where we don't have too many picks."
The 49ers entered April's draft with seven selections — none between rounds one and five. After some more moves, San Francisco ended up with just five selections this year.
"It's real important for us to keep our draft picks," Shanahan continued, "but if we find any situation where the right guy is there, who we think can help us this year, and without risking hurting us in the future, that's something I don't think we'd ever hesitate at, and we'd look forward to doing it. But those things don't always come up."
The problem this season is that after several injuries, the 49ers may have significantly more needs than they did a year ago. Their once-deep defensive line has lost Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, and Ziggy Ansah for the year. Pass rusher Dee Ford and linebacker Kwon Alexander are out indefinitely. Tight end Jordan Reed is expected to miss another three to five weeks after suffering an MCL sprain in Week 3.
Shanahan revealed on Monday that running back Raheem Mostert and center Ben Garland are likely headed to injured reserve. Mostert suffered a high-ankle sprain on Sunday night while Garland left the game with a calf strain.