Report: 49ers trade TE Asante Cleveland to Patriots for OL Jordan Devey

The San Francisco 49ers have traded second-year tight end Asante Cleveland to the New England Patriots for third-year offensive lineman Jordan Devey, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Cleveland probably wasn’t going to make the 49ers’ final roster — he was one of eight tight ends. Now the Niners have seven:

1. Vernon Davis
2. Vance McDonald
3. Blake Bell
4. Derek Carrier
5. Garrett Celek
6. Xavier Grimble
7. Rory Anderson

Devey (6-6, 320 lbs) was an undrafted free agent in 2013 who started four games at guard for the Patriots in 2014, and in just 302 snaps earned a grade of minus-19.2 from Pro Football Focus.

In a preseason game last week against the Green Bay Packers Devey played right tackle, so maybe the Niners acquired him to back up Erik Pears.

Why do you think the Niners traded for Devey?

This article has 26 Comments

  1. We basically swapped camp bodies for positions of need. Both players probably have an uphill battle of making the 53-man roster.

  2. Trading Asante is understandable but why they did it for Devey is a bit murkier. Nothing stands out about him. Had a condition that prevented him from playing ball in High School and doesn’t have particularly long arms. Add in his struggles with the Patriots and this is just a body swap with nothing to lose I suppose.

  3. The road traveled provides an intangible where opportunity makes him an intriguing log to throw into the training campfire….

  4. Sounds like they did not like the film on last game, and decided to get some inexpensive insurance. AC was a sure cut, so no biggie losing him.

    1. Check the stats, and see that Asante Cleveland had a better catch ratio than Carrier and Celek (TC) and I believe 3 TD’s over the last two years…others should have been traded first

      1. When Celek caught the ball, had a defender bounce off of him, then he strolled into the end zone, he made Cleveland expendable.

  5. Reports are saying the 49ers were shopping Cleveland and Carrier. The Redskins still need a TE.

  6. Mid ….

    I suppose that’s true, but I’m getting tired of drafting extras, developing them, then watching while other teams stand on the sidelines (like Saturday ‘s game ) and shop us like buzzards on carcasses….trading for additional picks never seems to get us anything above a 4th except with Alex, and we lost there too IMHO.

      1. Htwaits….

        I do remember that Cleveland was a UDF, but it happens every year that a UDF comes out of nowhere and excels, and stays for 6-8 years as a productive player for the lucky team that ‘finds’ him. Just like JaMarcus Russell, going the other way…where is he now ? So, my point is that you can be a player as a UDF just as easily as a Jamarcus ‘flop’ or a Ryan Leaf

        1. I’d rather be the team with too much talent than the team needing to rely on others cast-offs.

  7. I guess that I should salute the trade when it comes right down to it….no matter how much talent Cleveland has, he still had 7 in front of him in position, and none of them are dogfood. On the other hand, Devey is as big as a house and has played in NFL games…he was MVP for his Memphis college team (as a lineman)…doesn’t have a history of injury, is young (26) and has played both Guard and Tackle….possible ‘swing’ OL…seems like an All American boy….and we could use a Boy Scout or two in SF….All right TB….SALUTE !

  8. Makes sense I guess. Too many TEs on the roster, and lets face it, the 3rd string OL struggled pretty badly against the Texans. Devey seems to have a lot of versatility along the line.

    1. The reason Baalke likes to collect as many low draft picks and undrafted free agents as possible is to increase his odds of striking gold. He’s playing a numbers game, and the better he does his job, the more painful bubble cuts there will be. Right now he’s playing the same numbers game with his offensive linemen.

      If deep pockets determined roster quality, the York family would never compete the way Uncle Eddie did.

      1. Too bad he didn’t use one of those seventh rounders on Collins in the last draft. That was a nugget worth picking up.

  9. 1. Vernon Davis – need him
    2. Vance McDonald – because VD is in his contract yr, we need him
    3. Blake Bell – just drafted, have to keep him
    4. Derek Carrier – i like his quickness in the passing game
    5. Garrett Celek – i like his size and agility

    i am thinking we keep only 4 TE’s, possibly 5?

  10. Baalke likes the numerous draft picks because they are locked into rookie contracts and he has leverage and flexibility when it comes to extending contracts.
    Also, there is still quality in the later rounds, if the scouts can pick them out. Smelter, Busta, Brown and others have potential.

Comments are closed.