NFL trade rumors: Corey Lemonier among the 49ers that could end up on the market

The NFL trade deadline passes Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. PT, which means we will hear a few trade rumors over the next 24 hours. Very few trades will actually happen, but that will not stop the chatter. The latest "rumor" comes courtesy of Matt Maiocco, who reported yesterday that outside linebacker Corey Lemonier is the San Francisco 49ers most likely trade candidate.

Maiocco's report came shortly after Adam Schefter said the 49ers would be interested in moving some back-end players to make room for returning guys like Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Glenn Dorsey. Lemonier is the kind of player who would fit into that description. Additionally, as Maiocco reported, Lemonier is young enough to potentially garner at least a little interest. Lemonier lost his rotational pass rush role to Aaron Lynch, and now is working exclusively on special teams. Some teams are struggling mightily with the pass rush, so it makes sense that they might want to try Lemonier just for change's sake.

Earlier Monday, the Chicago Bears announced defensive end Lamarr Houston tore his ACL and is out for the year. That news resulted in this tweet from Matt Barrows.

If the #49ers are trying to move a defensive lineman before the trade deadline, the #Bears seem like a possible partner. #TJE

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) October 27, 2014

Barrows is not suggesting the 49ers are pursuing anything like this, but it makes a lot of sense. Jerod-Eddie and Dobbs are two guys who have proven to be very capable reserves. If the 49ers can net a 7th round draft pick for one of them, it would make some sense to jump on such an opportunity.

I'm more intrigued by potentially dealing one of the reserve linemen than I am in a potential Lemonier deal. I say that because with Lemonier, we know what the timeline is to a certain extent. Aldon Smith will be back on the roster sometime between this week and Week 11. When he returns, Aaron Lynch and Dan Skuta will likely see decreases in defensive playing time, which pushes Lemonier even further out of the picture.

If the 49ers could deal Dobbs or TJE, they would need to figure out a bridge to the return of Glenn Dorsey, and that could last anywhere from a couple weeks to a month or more. Either Dobbs or TJE (whichever one is left) would get the bulk of the work, but it could mean more opportunities for Quinton Dial and/or Tank Carradine. My guess is the former gets more work, but who knows what might happen with Tank.