Report: 49ers still trying to add cornerback, pass rusher before NFL trade deadline

The San Francisco 49ers are still trying to get some trades made before the NFL trade deadline. While pass rusher Randy Gregory has been sent over to the team, the 49ers still could use some help on cornerback and pass rush.

The Athletic’s Diana Russini heard a few things regarding the NFL and some trades and listed the 49ers as working the phones. It looks like cornerback and edge rusher are the targets:

8. The 49ers are looking to add a few pieces like edge rusher and cornerback. They are working the phones.

As we said, Gregory is already on the squad and starting to get playing time, but that may not be enough. If pass rush is what they are after, Brian Burns from Carolina may be a target. Montez Sweat from the Washington Commanders may also be someone the 49ers can get and may be cheaper in terms of draft compensation.

From the same article by Russini, the Commanders are targeting a 2nd round pick, but teams are only offering 3rds. This is most likely due to the mid-season rental Sweat allows and the fact he’d be due for a mega contract at the end of the season. A 2nd isn’t out of the question, but the 49ers could easily offer a 3rd and some change if they can exceed someone else’s 3rd round offer.

If Sweat is who the 49ers are after, they’ll have to wait until after the Commanders’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles concludes. The decision to trade pieces will come depending on who wins that game, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

On the cornerback side of things, everyone seems to like Patrick Surtain II from the Denver Broncos. One problem: The Broncos aren’t interested in trading him. If you take that at face value, you move on.

The New York Giants weren’t trading Odell Beckham Jr., though, and you saw how that turned out. I imagine the only way they are getting rid of Surtain is if they can get the equivalent of their picks back from the Russell Wilson and or Sean Payton deals (not happening).

The 49ers need to be strategic with this. While they have a first round pick for 2024 to play with (yay!) they also have a massive contract with Brandon Aiyuk on the horizon they may or may not figure out. If they were to, say, acquire Sweat, not only do they give up a piece that could produce for a few years on a cheap deal in a rookie, they also have to get an extension made for said piece, which takes money from Aiyuk and others going for restructures and other salary considerations I’m not going into here.

If they can swing it, a piece opposite Nick Bosa makes sense, regardless of what happens with Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, it would just be preferable to not be at the cost of extensions for their home-grown talent.