It was one of the stranger products of an NFL trade deadline day that was rife with 49ers rumors and chatter, and there were more than a few fans — and even sober-minded media members — who were duped. But a seemingly legitimate account posted a totally fake trade rumor about a 49ers-Giants trade fell through because New York did not get its paperwork in ahead of the deadline.
It was a titillating story — who does not like the idea of a gargantuan multi-billion NFL organization like the Giants falling flat on its face because they could not fill in a questionnaire fast enough? The problem with the story (and it is a significant one) is that it was a fake.
General manager John Lynch spoke about the fake 49ers deal, which supposedly would have sent cornerback Adoree Jackson to San Francisco, on Wednesday morning on KNBR radio in San Francisco.
“That is not true at all,” Lynch said. “I talked with Joe Schoen at one point but nothing about that deal or really about any deal, just checking in, that type of deal. So that was, that was not real.”
Giants’49ers Trade Rumor Sent From Troll Account
The source of the Giants-49ers trade rumor problem was a tweet from Wesley Steinberg, whose X (formerly Twitter) profile reads, “NFL and NY Giants Insider. AS-MR Sports Representative. Loving Husband and Father.” Problem is, he is a known social media satirist and troll.
But when he wrote, “The #Giants had a trade agreed with the #49ers for Adoree Jackson but failed to report it to the league in time,” the news sounded plausible enough to be true. Some sites regurgitated Steinberg’s report without seeing if it was reported anywhere else, or without checking to see if Steinberg had any semblance of credibility.
So the news cropped up in reputable places like SB Nation and Athlon Sports. San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Eric Branch retweeted it (and untweeted it), and KNBR worked up a video featuring Dan Dibley mentioning the Giants’ “incompetence.”
In the end, the tweet from Steinberg was very, very viral — it got 2.5 million views on X.
John Lynch: ‘We Have a Lot of Conversations’
https://twitter.com/timkawakami/status/1719432788854886662
There was no Giants-49ers trade, and there should not even have been any Giants-49ers trade rumors. Still, a cornerback addition might have been nice for the struggling San Francisco defense, which gave up 400 yards in back-to-back weeks for the first time since October 2017.
The 49ers were not quiet on trade deadline day, of course, adding former No. 2 pick Chase Young in a deal from Washington. Rumors insisted that something else might get done, too, and multiple reports suggested that the 49ers had conversations about cornerbacks with other teams, especially Jaylon Johnson in Chicago.
🚨 Update
The Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are in the mix to acquire Bears Jaylon Johnson.
Lynch did not elaborate on any of those 49ers rumors.
“We have a lot of conversations, you know, a lot of different positions,” he said. “And, you know, all I can say is this is the deal that made the most sense and we’re happy to make that addition. I believe it in my heart of hearts, we got enough in this building to get where we want to get and expect to get. And now it’s just about going and doing it.”
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GM John Lynch Slams 49ers-Giants Mystery Trade Rumor That Duped Media