The San Francisco 49ers are 2-0, but do have holes on the team that they could address in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 10. One name in the speculation conversation is Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner.
After the Colts’ 0-2 start, there’s now speculation about which players could be available if this free fall continues.
Luckily, no one in the AFC South is off to a 2-0 start, so Indianapolis can still recover. Moreover, the Colts have the 0-2 Houston Texans and the 0-2 Washington Commanders next on their schedule.
49ers reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, Jennifer Lee Chan, shared her thoughts on Buckner potentially returning to the Niners via a trade.
“[Buckner is] in the last year of his contract,” Lee Chan said in a Sept. 22 livestream on her YouTube channel. “I would think he would come back but what can the 49ers give up for him? I don’t know. They would want him for the rest of the contract and not have to guarantee him more money for a huge new contract.”
Colts Still Have Chance to Recover Despite 0-2 Start
Indianapolis could be 2-2 in a couple of weeks, given their next two opponents. However, if that doesn’t happen and, for some reason, they find themselves 1-3 or 0-4, trade speculation around players like Buckner will get louder.
Nonetheless, she doesn’t foresee a trade happening now given that the NFC South is still wide open and any move of that magnitude would likely come days or even hours before the deadline.
“The Colts have a chance, though,” Lee Chan added. “Their division is weak. It’s too early to let him go. When it comes to being closer to the trade deadline, if the Colts are having a s—-y season, then yes. Maybe they’ll trade away [Buckner] because why not at this point? But it’s not going to be now.
“It’s going to be way closer to the trade deadline. The Niners have to be really playing well and need one piece, and that would have to be [Buckner] and then the Colts have to just be sucking.”
49ers Insider Says DeForest Buckner Didn’t Want to Leave
If by chance the 49ers do trade for Buckner around the trade deadline, the veteran defensive tackle would fit in the dressing room.
“I was there when he was a rookie, and such a good locker room guy, such a great player,” Lee Chan said. “They just missed out when they traded him… I know that he didn’t want to go. I know that he wanted to stay with the 49ers; I think because budget-wise they wanted to have less money on the salary cap, they chose to keep Arik Armstead instead of DeForest Buckner.”
Since the Niners traded him to the Colts in 2020, Buckner has had 221 solo tackles, 175 assisted tackles, 44.5 sacks, and four fumble recoveries in 90 games, per StatMuse.
It will be interesting to see if the Colts can recover; if not, then the 49ers might as well pursue him, given that they reunited with Deebo Samuel and Dre Greenlaw this past season.
49ers Insider Gets Candid on Trade Possibility for Colts’ DeForest Buckner