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Parys Haralson traded to New Orleans Saints, according to Cam Inman

The 49ers have reportedly traded Parys Haralson to the New Orleans Saints. We break down what it all means.

By David Fucillo
Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Only hours after rumors started circulating that Parys Haralson was being shopped around, it looks like something has happened. According to the local writers, Parys Haralson has been saying his good-byes to teammates. Cam Inman has now said that he is hearing Haralson has been traded to the New Orleans Saints. The move will clear off his $1.15 million base salary. That gives the 49ers a bit more space to either roll over next season, or work out an extension of one of their current players. And of course, they are likely adding some kind of draft choice.

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Here are a few tweets from the media prior to Inman's:

New Orleans is not a surprise landing spot if that is the case. They lost linebacker Will Smith to a torn ACL, and need some more depth at the position. This will be rather interesting seeing as the 49ers will face the Saints this season, and could very well see them again in the playoffs.

Although the 49ers have some great young talent at outside linebacker, it is still disappointing to see Haralson leave. He was always a solid guy on the roster. He sat out last year with a torn triceps muscle, but before that, he was a key part of Aldon Smith's transition to outside linebacker. Haralson played in the base defense, and Aldon came on in pass rush situations. This was able to happen in part because Haralson was solid against the run, and able to give the 49ers just enough in platooning with Aldon.

Prior to that, Haralson even managed some solid pass rush numbers when the 49ers were struggling to figure out a defensive identity. He was never a dominant pass rusher, but he was solid.

Now, the 49ers continue their attempts to shave some cap space and get younger in certain areas. Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks are the starting outside linebackers, but behind them, the 49ers will line up Corey Lemonier, and possibly Dan Skuta and Cam Johnson. The 49ers could slide Johnson to the practice squad, but we'll have to wait a few days to figure out how the OLB depth chart shakes out.

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