Should Packers Try Trading for Veteran 49ers Receiver?

Should the Green Bay Packers be interested if the San Francisco 49ers are serious about wanting to trade away one of their deep-threat wide receivers?

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Marquise Goodwin’s name has been discussed in trade talks and could potentially be on his way out of San Francisco if the right trade partner emerges. He is due just $10 million over the next two seasons with a cap hit of less than $5 million for 2020, making his contract an appealing one for a team looking to speedy receiving talent.

Goodwin, who will turn 30 next November, would offer the Packers a potential second or third option in the receiving game and another experienced presence in a young locker room. He wouldn’t come without risks, as he finished the 2019 season on injured reserve with ankle and knee injuries, but his ceiling could be high if he stays in good health for 2020.

Given the Packers have a stockpile of late-round draft picks, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think they could be interested in sending one to San Francisco in exchange for Goodwin’s services.

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Goodwin Wouldn’t Be a Massive Risk

Goodwin was blistering during his first season with the 49ers in 2017, catching 56 passes for a team-high 962 yards and two touchdowns, but it remains to be seen how much his most recent injuries will impact his speed after playing just 20 games of the past two years. Still, Goodwin has averaged 17.0 yards per reception since landing in San Francisco, and he could thrive in a situation where he isn’t needed to be the top option in an offense.

There are also some precautionary benefits built into his contract. For instance, if he was brought in and proved to be a dud in 2020, the Packers would only have to take a cap hit of $625,000 if they cut him the following offseason. A one-year run wouldn’t be ideal, but it wouldn’t come at nearly the expense of something like their experiment with tight end Jimmy Graham.

The 49ers clearly still value Goodwin, as head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team wouldn’t be interested in releasing him despite an emerging group of young receivers and a potential cap hit of just $1.25 million.

“We wouldn’t release Marquise,” Shanahan said at the NFL Scouting Combine last week. “He’s too valuable. I know he fell out of the rotation last year, then he had an injury (and) wanted to go on IR so he could get it cleaned up. I think it is right now. I haven’t seen him for a while. Marquise is a guy who can play in this league.”

The Packers seem certain to bolster their receiving depth this offseason one way or another with eyes on a deep draft class and a general manager who has made splashes in free agency before. Whether Goodwin is an appropriate fit also depends on their expectations for their current talent. Geronimo Allison seems likely to depart in free agency, but Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling both figure to contend for bigger roles in next year’s offense.

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