After bringing back DeForest Buckner, will the 49ers make more trades?
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Occasionally around this time of year, tight end George Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and offensive tackle Trent Williams will seeSan Francisco 49ersgeneral manager John Lynch on his office patio overlooking the practice fields and begin chirping in his direction.
A few weeks ago, Kittle asked Lynch if he was trying to trade for Chargers pass rusher Khalil Mack. More recently, Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner also came up both privately and publicly. Juszczyk commented "Come home" on an Instagram post from Oct. 18 that showed Buckner speaking about his frustrations in Indianapolis.
"I just like to chirp him and ask what he's interested in, see if he'll give me anything," Kittle said. "We all chirp him just to see if he'll actually tell us anything."
Lynch and his staff answered in the affirmative Tuesday, striking a deal to send a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Colts to bring Buckner back to San Francisco. It was the first, but perhaps not the last, meaningful addition the 6-1 Niners made before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
It was no secret that the 49ers have long wanted a reunion with Buckner, who was drafted by the team with the seventh overall pick in 2016. Upon trading him to Indianapolis in March 2020, Lynch said it was the "toughest thing" he'd done on the job. That held true in the ensuing years, as the 49ers failed to replace Buckner with significant draft capital (Javon Kinlaw), big free agent money (Javon Hargrave) and a smaller combination of the two (Maliek Collins).
In recent years, as the Colts struggled, bringing Buckner back has always been at least a passing thought. In 2026, with the Niners unable to consistently rush the passer, multiple injuries on the defensive line, and Buckner unhappy in Indianapolis, the conditions were right for it to become a reality.
The move elicited joy in San Francisco's locker room. Kittle, Juszczyk and wideout Deebo Samuel Sr. celebrated on social media. And now, with the rest of the bye week to evaluate the roster, one big question remains: Will the 49ers make even more big moves before the trade deadline?
In San Francisco, nobody is denying that now is the time for urgency. Kittle, Juszczyk and Williams might be joking when they push Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan for trade information, but there's at least a kernel of truth in it. Sometimes, that means Shanahan and Lynch seeking their input on potential acquisitions they have played with or against.
For Williams, 38, retirement isn't far off, and the only thing left for him to accomplish is to win the Super Bowl. It's why he acknowledges that he and the other veterans wouldn't mind seeing the Niners swing for the fences, even if it means trading top picks if the right opportunity arises.
"As a player, you don't know how they value draft picks, but nobody in here ever values draft picks because we look at them as being a gamble," Williams said. "You don't know what anybody can turn out to be. You had people come in and they swear they're the best they've ever seen, and you got people that can go to the last pick in the draft and turn out to be All-Pros.
"For us [players], you always want the proven product. But it's a happy medium ... I don't look at it the same way they look at it. They look at it in a whole picture view."
The Niners' first loss of the season in Atlanta made that picture less blurry, laying bare San Francisco's two biggest needs. The defensive line struggled to generate pressure with zero sacks, and a depleted receiver corps didn't offer much pop aside from second-year wideout Jordan Watkins.
When asked about using the bye week to get a jump on the trade deadline, Shanahan said Lynch and his staff have already been working on it with those two positions front of mind.
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"We still have the week when we get back [before the deadline], but if there's stuff that makes sense that can improve our team in any spot, we'd love for that to happen," Shanahan said. "The obvious injury spots to us have been receiver and D-Line. We are getting a number of those guys back at both positions, but that also doesn't exclude us from looking to something that would make sense to help us."
Shanahan said the Niners "have a chance" but aren't guaranteed to get Samuel (hamstring), DE Nick Bosa(calf), DT C.J. West(knee surgery), WR Mike Evans (Achilles tendinitis) and WR Demarcus Robinson(ankle) back as soon as Week 9 against the Raiders. Rookie wideoutDe'Zhaun Striblingis more likely to return in December from ankle surgery.
The danger in counting on players returning from injury is that the Niners, of all teams, can't presume they will stay healthy once they return or that others will remain available. And even if they do bring someone in, Shanahan said it might make sense for one or two weeks until players return from injury and they have to start making cuts.
"We would love to just stockpile some players in case some people get hurt going forward because the odds are people do ... You've got to kind of see where you're at and try to guess the future," Shanahan said.
Adding Buckner, who has missed just 14 games in 10 seasons, should lessen the need on the defensive line and bolster a pass rush that is 31st in the NFL in pressure rate (23%) when rushing four players. However, they would be wise to operate as though Bosa might not be available for every game the rest of the way after his return from a calf injury.
An addition such as Mack -- or other potentially available edge rushers like the Jets' Will McDonald IV, Cardinals' Josh Sweat or Bucs' Yaya Diaby -- would make sense to round out San Francisco's rotation for a reasonable cost in terms of what they need to give up.
As with Bosa, the team has to be cautious with Evans to ensure he's ready for the playoff push. Jacksonville's Brian Thomas Jr., Cleveland's Jerry Jeudy and the Colts' Josh Downs(who requested a trade Wednesday) are among the wideouts who could be available for something less than a premium draft pick.
If the Niners truly want to swing for the fences, they could try to pry loose a superstar. Raiders end Maxx Crosby and Jets wideout Garrett Wilson are names that move the needle, but they're unlikely trade candidates barring a significant offer -- one with multiple top picks, probably including multiple first-rounders.
As always, San Francisco would only do a deal like that for a player they believe could be a part of the long-term foundation. Lynch has pulled off such trades for Williams in 2020 and running back Christian McCaffrey in 2022.
Whether another big move is a pipe dream or realistic depends on a lot of factors out of their control. But the Niners know what's possible with this team, and the chance to finally break through is one they don't want to take for granted.
"To be in this position earlier in the year, I think you do get that sense of excitement or confidence knowing that, OK, we're not just talking," Williams said. "We really could do the things that we set out to do. And with that being the case, obviously we all want to go for broke."br/]
