The 49ers could explore some changes at the trade deadline.
The San Francisco 49ers faced some unfortunate injury news this past weekend, as Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL and a torn MCL in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, effectively ending his season.
It’s been an up-and-down year for San Francisco, as they’ve struggled to put together any form of consistency, now standing at 3-4 heading into a crucial week against the Dallas Cowboys.
Now, they seem to be even further behind the eight ball without their top receiver, as the team is still looking to find their identity near the midway mark of the season.
In addition to Aiyuk’s injury, the 49ers didn’t have Deebo Samuel this past weekend, while Christian McCaffrey remains out as he deals with his Achilles tendonitis issues.
San Francisco heavily invested in their 2024 team, but things are trending downward for a group that came into the season as a top Super Bowl favorite.
With Aiyuk now out for the year, is it time to entertain a midseason trade for a wide receiver?
The 49ers have been willing to deal for skill-position players when needed in the past. Back in 2019, they traded for Emmanuel Sanders, who helped bolster the wide receiver unit on San Francisco’s first Super Bowl run. Then, back in 2022, the 49ers flipped a number of picks for Christian McCaffrey, looking to make a major push and finally get over the hump.
A few seasons later, San Francisco has yet to reach their goal, and this could be one of the final years with their current core, which is why there may be some urgency at the trade deadline to make a move.
“We try to look into everything regardless,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said about trades on Monday. “Obviously with more issues that came up yesterday, you still want to look into everything, but it has to do with what options are out there with stuff that we can pull off that doesn’t totally hurt us, that helps us now, and doesn’t hurt us for the future.”
However, in this instance, it may make sense to stay pat, even with the major loss.
San Francisco drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall in the first-round with the expectation of him filling into the rotation this year before likely assuming a bigger role last year.
Pearsall played in his first NFL game this past weekend, making his first career catch and seeing a healthy portion of snaps, especially after Aiyuk departed the game.
Additionally, the 49ers drafted slot wideout Jacob Cowing in the fourth round, who has been seen in a returner role and even earned some snaps this weekend with Jauan Jennings out.
Both players have shown the potential to make plays, and San Francisco has invested in them via the draft, with their opportunity coming now.
Moreover, the 49ers still have two of their top receivers with Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings, who have both been focal parts of the offense at times this year. They’ll also look to return Christian McCaffrey after the bye week, while potentially giving a bigger role to star tight end George Kittle.
So, the weapons still aren’t lacking in San Francisco. The unit on the field is still an above-average skill position room in the NFL, and the depth can be utilized now with the unfortunate injury to the team’s top receiver.