The trade deadline is on Tuesday. San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Friday morning and indicated that fans probably shouldn't get their hopes too high on the team making a splashy move before the deadline. Despite some needs brought on by several injuries that have devastated the roster, San Francisco is pretty pressed up against the salary cap, making a big acquisition difficult.
"We're fairly restricted, but we are always looking," Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "We're always trying to improve our team. So, believe me, we're working hard to see anything that might fit, just like this Jordan Willis. You'll see him out in uniform this weekend, a kid who came from the Jets, and we'll see if he can give us a little boost on the D-line. Sometimes there's subtle moves like that.
"I don't anticipate, right now, anything big like the Emmanuel Sanders deal last year. And yes, that is somewhat because we're restricted (by the cap). We've also used 70 players, I think, on our active roster this year, so you come in with the salary cap, but then you eat into that.
"And then, you've also got to understand everything we do this year affects next year, where, because of the pandemic, the cap's going to be way down. I think it's forcing everyone, particularly the teams that are pressing that cap, to be very guarded in what they do."
The 49ers could be getting three players back from injured reserve soon. Practice windows were opened this week for tight end Jordan Reed, running back Tevin Coleman, and cornerback K'Waun Williams. Lynch said he likes what each has shown this week during the team's two practices so far, with one more set for today.
"But having said that, we're always looking and working hard to see if there's something that can make us better," Lynch continued. "Otherwise, we really like our group internally. Like I've said, we've got guys coming back. If we can slow the rate of guys going to that [injured reserve] list, we think internally, we're going to get a big boost late in this year.
"So we're focused on that, but more so focused on the challenge this weekend against the Seahawks, and looking forward to that."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.