Kyle Shanahan states 49ers trading DeForest Buckner to Colts ‘sucked so bad’

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers were a little more than one month removed from their Super Bowl loss when they made a controversial personnel decision.The 49ers traded one of their best players and leaders, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round draft pick in March 2020.Coach Kyle Shanahan might still believe it was the correct decision, but he said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “49ers Game Plan” that it does not minimize how difficult it was to part with a player and person such as Buckner.“We’ve had some tough decisions since then, but I would say that was the toughest, because it wasn’t something that you had to do,” Shanahan said. “But it was something that was the right thing, and it had nothing to do with DeForest. He was that good of a player and, gosh, I wish he was still here.”Buckner, a three-time Pro Bowl player, will face his former team for the second time since the trade sent him to Indianapolis. When the teams met in a driving rainstorm in 2021 at Levi’s Stadium, Buckner registered a sack and six tackles in the Colts’ 30-18 victory.Buckner earned...