49ers trading for offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson, per report

Fooch’s update: The deal is for a 2019 fifth round pick, per Ian Rapoport.

The San Francisco 49ers have had some inconsistent play by their interior line, and they appear to be making a move to address it. Mike Garfolo and Ian Rapoport are reporting the 49ers are sending a draft pick to the Detroit Lions for offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson.

Tomlinson has played primarily left guard for the Lions since they spent a first round pick on him in 2015. He started 14 games in 2015 and another 10 games in 2016. Our friends at Pride of Detroit were talking about wanting to trade him back in March.

He started and played sporadically as a rookie before entering 2016 as the incumbent but eventually lost the job to Glasgow, who would play there most of the season and played well enough—though not great—to leave many thinking it’s his job to lose coming into the season.

Fans never warmed to the Tomlinson pick, and despite showing some very promising potential when playing right guard against the Rams and a late season surge after Swanson’s injury pushed Glasgow back to guard, fans are already talking about how to get him out of town.

The 49ers currently have Zane Beadles and Brandon Fusco starting at the guard positions, while Joshua Garnett remains sidelined with a knee injury. Neither is overly impressive, and the 49ers lack much in the way of guard depth. This kind of move suggests Garnett may miss more than just a couple more weeks, but also that they need to find an alternative to what they’ve got starting for now. Given that he plays left guard and Zane Beadles plays left guard, Tomlinson might be a replacement.