Getty John Lynch (right), 49ers GM and busy man at the NFL trade deadline
It is Week 7, which means we are closing in on the NFL’s trade deadline, and which also means that for a contending team like the 49ers, trade rumors will be running rampant. Reporter Matt Barrows of The Athletic tried to wrangle some of the potential trade-rumor targets of the 49ers, and as the team prepares for the Vikings on Monday night, one name stands out: Danielle Hunter.
Minnesota’s fearsome pass rusher is leading the NFL in sacks, tied with T.J. Watt of the Steelers with 8.0. There is some doubt as to whether the Vikings will head into the final week ahead of the deadline looking to overhaul and rebuild or whether they’ll try to keep the team together despite the paltry 2-4 record.
Top offensive weapons quarterback Kirk Cousins and receiver Justin Jefferson do not appear to be going anywhere, but Hunter is a different story. And though he is listed as a “pie-in-the-sky” option by Barrows, especially with the addition of former Broncos pass-rusher Randy Gregory, the 49ers have a Super Bowl championship as their only acceptable goal. A little pie in the sky is not a bad idea here.
Lions, Injuries Are Obstacles to Danielle Hunter Pursuit
There are obstacles to the 49ers going after Hunter, as with any of the trade rumors that will crop up around the team. In this case, as Barrows notes, Gregory is one of them but urgency from other teams is another. The injury-plagued Lions want to solidify themselves as an NFC contender and could make a player like Hunter—who comes with a $21 million cap hit, per Spotrac, a priority.
“(Hunter) has been the best thing about the Vikings defense. But as is the case with (Carolina pass rusher Brian) Burns, the 49ers already may have found their extra pass rusher in Gregory. There also may be more motivated teams to acquire Hunter like the Lions and also the Lions. (And if you think they wouldn’t do an intradivision trade, Detroit sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to Minnesota last season.)”
Another issue with any 49ers Danielle Hunter rumor: Perhaps the 49ers’ injury scares at running back (Christian McCaffrey, backup Elijah Mitchell and third-stringer Jordan Mason have all had recent injury concerns), wide receiver (Deebo Samuel) and offensive line (Trent Williams) will nudge the team toward securing depth at those spots. Williams will sit out in Week 7 against the Vikings, leaving Jaylon Moore to start in his place.
If Moore is not up to the task, maybe the 49ers’ trade rumors will shift to finding offensive line depth.
As John Lynch Works Phones, 49ers trade Rumors Persist
Regardless, expect the team to be busy at the NFL deadline, and expect 49ers trade rumors to carry on. They have the biggest trove of available cap space, at $43 million, and did not restructure all those contracts in the offseason just so that they could brag about their cap space. They did that to use it, and they have nine days to do so.
GM John Lynch, in an appearance on KNBR in San Francisco this week, said he is expecting to be active. “Yeah, I think this time of the year, it’s just a lot of phone calls with other teams,” Lynch said. “’Where are you guys at? What are you looking for? Who’s available?’
“Then you start to hone in on, okay in the right situation, these are the guys we’d like to have. So it’s just a lot of communication with other teams. We think we’ve got a proven track record where we’re not afraid to be active and if it can help our team.”