The San Francisco 49ers are 7-1 and look every bit like a Super Bowl contender since they reunited with defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
General manager John Lynch called trading Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 the most difficult decision of his tenure. He reversed it on Oct. 27, sending a 2027 fourth-round pick to Indianapolis to bring the three-time Pro Bowler back to the team that drafted him No. 7 overall in 2016.
The 49ers have been trying to replace Buckner ever since, and 2020 first-round pick Javon Kinlaw never filled the role.
Two weeks after the trade, San Francisco made another big decision involving Buckner, and this one could pay off down the stretch.
Buckner Helps 49ers Free Up Cap Space
On Thursday, the 49ers restructured Buckner’s contract to give themselves more financial breathing room.
“The #49ers converted $6.5M of DeForest Buckner’s traded salary into signing bonus, adding 2 void years, creating $5.2M of cap space this season,” Spotrac posted on X.
The move drops Buckner’s 2026 cap hit to just $2.7 million and pushes the remaining $5.2 million onto a 2027 void year. The 32-year-old is in the final year of his contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
That means the $5.2 million would hit San Francisco’s books as dead money next offseason unless the two sides agree on a new deal. That’s the cost of doing business for a team chasing a Lombardi Trophy.
The 49ers now have about $35.54 million in cap space, according to Spotrac. The Nov. 10 trade deadline has passed, but the extra room gives San Francisco flexibility to add pieces — perhaps a free-agent edge-rusher like Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd, or Yetu Gross-Matos — for a likely playoff run.
The 49ers got Buckner for a fourth-round pick, and now they’ve freed up more than $5 million in the process. That’s not a bad two weeks of work for Lynch.
What Buckner Brings to the 49ers’ Defense
San Francisco’s defensive line badly needed reinforcements when Lynch got to work on the phones. Tackles Alfred Collins (patellar tendon), C.J. West (knee), and James Thompson Jr. (ankle) had missed all or most of the season. Star defensive end Nick Bosa also missed five games with a calf injury.
The pass-rush numbers showed it. In their last game before the trade, the 49ers pressured Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. on just three of his 34 dropbacks. Their pressure rate when rushing four or fewer (23%) ranked second-worst in the NFL, according to ESPN Research.
And then rookie Gracen Halton went down with a season-ending fractured and dislocated ankle against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9.
Buckner’s 49ers debut didn’t show up much in the box score — one tackle and two quarterback hits in a 38-17 win over the Raiders. But with Buckner and Bosa back, San Francisco forced five takeaways in the second half.
Over eight games this season with Indianapolis and San Francisco, Buckner has 32 tackles, four sacks, and three passes defensed.
Bosa said Buckner’s value goes beyond the stat sheet.
“He set the culture for us back in ‘19 and he’s doing the same now,” Bosa said.
Buckner’s next chance to prove it comes Sunday, when the 49ers visit the 4-5 Dallas Cowboys.
49ers Make Big DeForest Buckner Decision 2 Weeks After Trading for Him