Four players the 49ers may look to add this season

Disclaimer: I have no idea if the 49ers will trade for or sign any of these players.

The 49ers currently have only $4.592 million in cap space available.

Regardless, these are four players I think San Francisco should target to enhance their roster.

1.) Christian McCaffrey – Running Back, Carolina

The Niners have been rumored to have interest in trading for the Carolina running back. This makes sense.

Although Jeff Wilson Jr. has averaged 4.9 yards per carry this season, San Francisco doesn’t have a solid backup.

Check that. They have rookies Ty Davis-Price and Jordan Mason on the roster, but they’ve combined for 13 carries so far.

With McCaffrey the 49ers get a back who is explosive as both a runner and a receiver. The former Stanford product has shown the ability to work between the tackles and would allow Deebo Samuel to focus on playing wide receiver.

2.) Bryce Hall – Cornerback, New York Jets

The 49ers have a need at cornerback. Emmanuel Moseley is out for the season after tearing his ACL in Carolina and Charvarius Ward is dealing with a groin injury.

Hall is only 24 and having played for Robert Saleh the last two seasons is familiar with the 49ers system.

A fifth-round pick in 2020, Hall started all 17 games last season. He recorded 79 tackles and 16 passes defensed.

3.) William Jackson – Cornerback, Washington

Jackson is another option to help at cornerback. Signed by Washington as a free agent prior to last season, it would be tricky making the dollars work.

Standing 6’ and weighing 189 pounds, Jackson has the type of size San Francisco looks for on the outside.

He recorded two interceptions and 8 passes defensed in his first year with Washington and has followed that up with two passes defensed already this year.

4.) Ndamukong Suh – Defensive Tackle, Free Agent

With Javon Kinlaw on injured reserve and Arik Armstead out with a foot injury, San Francisco has a need in the middle of its defensive line.

Suh would help the 49ers interior pass rush. He recorded 12 sacks over the last two seasons with Tampa Bay and 71 tackles.

This article has 60 Comments

    1. Big changes coming, possibly after we drop out of contention for the playoffs. All that SB hype was suspect from the spring on. We need to see Purdy as we know Jimmy G is gone next year and is, as he always was, a mediocre backup type.

    1. I love that! I don’t realize he is in the final year of his rookie contract. Makes sense because WAS can’t keep all Allen, Young, Sweat, and Payne.

  1. Jack, what about an upgrade at Center and back-up TE? I’ve been harping on getting a proven veteran C since the offseason. Brendal has been killing us with penalties, missed blocks, and couple of muffed snaps. And we hardly ever get any pass catching production from TE2 and TE3, outside of that one big play from Dwelley against Seattle.

    1. Don’t think teams would be looking to trade a veteran center.

      Thought about TE but they don’t use Dwelley now as it is. He has 13 offensive snaps over the last 4 games.

      1. Isn’t Woerner the better blocker? Shanahan will always sacrifice the passing game for the running game. That being said Weorner drop came on a shotgun formation in 11 personnel.

        1. The Woerner drop was out of 22 personnel. When the ball was snapped Coleman and Juszczyk were wide, Aiyuk and Kittle in the slots, and Woerner as the inline tight end.

  2. Jack, what would you say we’d have to give up in compensation? McCaffrey would require at least two 1s. Are those corners not starters? NY is winning. Why would they trade him?

  3. Actually, I would make a deal for DE Bryan Burns. He’s only 24 Y/O and coming off his best season. As much as I like Bosa, he is staring to concern me with his injuries.
    I’m not advocating giving Bosa less playing time by any means. I just believe it’s time to solidify this important position in the event that starters are injured.

      1. Wait for him (Jackson) to develop and get up to NFL speed and for now, make him the first player off the bench and also use him in some special packages.

  4. When great big people run headlong into other great big people, SOME great big people get hurt or heaven forbid…injured. Face it folks, a lot of our great big people are injured right now. I’m wondering just what happened to Justin Skule that got him released…? All-American OL from Villanova two years ago….6′ 7″ 317… Couldn’t we have put him at Center ? and throw some raw beef onto the field…? Everyone else has to deal with injuries also…Don’t bitch and moan…everyone has people hurt…Frankly, I’m happy with the team we’ve got….”This too will pass…”

  5. In my opinion, Justin Skule isn’t very good at NFL football. The Buccaneers just released him from their practice squad yesterday. I don’t think he was an All-American in college. I do think he was cited for academic achievement by the SEC conference.

  6. Jack I think your mistaken Bryce Hall is a RB on the Jets not a CB. Nah jk haha.

    I wouldn’t give up any draft capital particularly for a CB. Personally I don’t think Verrett will make a big impact, it took him a whole year to get back up to speed last time he was hurt. I think we will see a resurgence of Ambry Thomas, Womack is not the answer outside.

    Also we don’t need CMC, TDP time is coming!

    1. I highly doubt we’ll see much of Ambry or we already would have. They clearly have him ranked at the bottom of the depth chart.

  7. I don’t hate the idea of adding McCaffery, but at the same time, what does that say about Tyrion Davis-Price and Deebo Samuel? People need to remember that Christian McCaffery is injury prone these days. Call me crazy but I don’t think pairing an injury prone RB with a HC who has no idea how to keep his players healthy. is such a great idea. McCaffery has played in 16 of a possible 29 games since 2019, and it’s going to take a significant trade offer to land McCaffery.

    I want to know what happened to Jordan Mason? He looked dynamic all throughout training camp, as well as his limited carries in the preseason. If Mason is really this bad, and/or simply can’t seem to gain Kyle’s trust, why in world did Kyle cut JaMycal Hasty in order to keep him? JaMycal Hasty runs like a mini Marshawn Lynch. Look, Hasty isn’t ever going to be a bell cow RB, but that’s not the way Kyle handles his RB’s anyways. I assumed Mason could take some snaps in short yardage situations, and a few carries here and there in order to keep the rest of the Niners stable of RB’s fresh.

    And let’s talk about Ty Davis-Price. I went back and watched TDP’s preseason carries, and he looked exactly like the player that I thought they were drafting. I know he’s been banged up, but he was healthy scratch Atlanta. Are we to really believe that Tevin Coleman is better option than TDP and Jordan Mason right now? I understand there is more to playing RB than carrying the football, but I am not asking for Kyle to use either one of these 2 guys more than a handfull of carries a game, and that what it’s going to take to keep Mitchell and Wilson healthy.

    Hey James Foster, that’s a great observation about TE Charlie Weorner’s use. He’s a certainly a better blocker than pass catcher, but you know who else is a TERRIFIC blocking TE …. George Kittle. One would think that one of the biggest schematic advantages of having such a complete TE like George Kittle, is that it creates all sorts of opportunities to mix match when the Niners go with multiple TE sets. But if Dwelley is rarely seeing the football field (which he is for some reason, I think he has bben on the field for less than 30 total snaps and has 4 total targets), and opposing defenses know that Dwelley is not a great blocker, I would imagine using Dwelley on that deep shot down the seem would likely have tipped off the Falcons’ defense. And that’s really bothering me. Why did they give Kittle an unprecedented TE contract, if they weren’t going to take advantage of his incredible versatility, and in particular his ability to create explosive plays as a reciever? Isn’t that what makes Kittle such a special TE? If Woerner and Dwelley were getting a similar number of snaps, it would open up a number of different TE personnel groupings and offensive concepts because it would be far less predictable. This used to be a strength of Kyle’s game-planning so what exactly is going on with Kyle’s predictable 2022 offense?

    Something is off with both Kyle’s play-calling, and game-planning right now, and the question is why? Did Kyle spend the entire offseason changes his offense in order to accommodate Trey Lance? It sure seems like losing Lance has completely thrown Kyle off of his game. He sure seems to be having a very hard time finding the right combination of offensive personnel, and he doesn’t seem to be putting any effort into finding ways to get his most talented players on the field, and in a position to succeed. We know what happened with BA at the start of last season, but what flew under the radar was how Kyle spent the first 8 games of the season playing a washed-up Mohamed Sanu ahead of Juaun Jennings, even though everyone in the locker room knew that Jennings brought a level of energy and intensity that team was in desperate need of last year.

    I’m not going to keep ripping Kyle this week, and I’m going to stop bringing up my theory about Mie McDaniel, and how his absence seems to have thrown a huge monkey wrench into Kyle’s way of doing things. And I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will probably never understand how Kyle’s brain works because we have such different ways of thinking. And most importantly, this next 5 game stretch is probably going to define the season because I don’t see Deebo taking over like he did last season, and almost single handedly willing the 49ers all the way to the conference championship game.

    I don’t see a big trade coming to fruition in time to have a major impact in this upcoming stretch if key games, but it does feels like Kyle’s offense might be getting somewhat healthy just in time for what is likely going to be a season defining stretch of games, which includes their bye week, and a couple more prime-time games. Maybe, just maybe, Kyle can get his act together, and take the league by surprise starting against the Chiefs on Sunday. The 49ers defense needs Kyle’s offense to throw them a lifeline for a change, so let’s see if Kyle and Jimmy are up to the task.

    GO NINERS!

    1. It says Deebo Samuel is a wide receiver and shouldn’t be relied upon in the run game.

      1. That might be true, Jack, but wasn’t Deebo statistically the best RB in the league last season, and do the 49ers even make the playoffs last season, without him lining up in the backfield?

        But this Christian McCaffery trade that JL and KS just made, I am going to need some time to digest this one …. HOLY COW!

    2. Deebo is being blanketed now and he has not been dominant this year. Woener is a mediocre blocking TE. Not a receiver. Obviously, the throw should have gone to Dwelley.

  8. Mid year signings never seem to work out in football unless you can get Deion Sanders. I’m not in favor of trading away picks for anyone unless it’s a 5th for a starting level Center with experience in an offense similar to this 49er offense. Otherwise, hold onto the picks and players and keep building in the draft.

    1. The acquisition of Emmanuel Sanders at the trade deadline was big for the team in 2019.

      1. Yeah, I did like that acquisition. 49ers gave up a 3rd and 4th for Sanders and a 5th. 49ers got 10 games with Sanders. 36 receptions for 502 yards and 3 TDs. At the end, the 49ers probably got good value out of that trade even if it was only a partial year of production.

    2. You usually over pay for free agents so I’d only do that when you are desperate which we were with cornerbacks this year. It appears we got lucky with one. I hope the Rams get McCaffrey. They are good at overpaying and it will just hurt their future.

  9. Juszczyk might be the answer at tight end. Maybe Davis-price can play the complete fullback repertoire as well as he did for one play against Atlanta. Or simply play Juszczyk at tight end when they go to 12 personnel. In other words, play him as much as possible. Kittle and he would be a great combo. I think they consistently waste his talent.

    1. Juice is one of the best-unsued players on the Niners. Kittle said the team was unmotivated and lethargic in the Atlanta game. The thing about Kittle is he is an honest man. Kyle was furious with the comment we are told.

  10. I think DT would be the easiest position to step into mid season. As much as I believe we need an O line up grade i’m not sure how long it would take for an O lineman to master KS’s system. Mitchell will be back soon and they haven’t given Mason a try yet for that reason i’m not in love with a trade for McCaffery. Kinlaw may not return and if he does he may be limited. Armstead may also be limited when he returns. I think Daron Payne will be available for a 3rd round pick and may just be a better player than either Armstead or Kinlaw

    1. Kinlaw is gone after this season if not before. Same with the malingering Armstead. Horrible mistake to keep Armstead and let Buckner go. Blunder city.

      1. Allie, I don’t think the mistake was keeping Armstead and trading Buckner, because Armstead has been as productive as Buckner, he’s cheaper, he’s more versatile, and they play different defensive roles, so it’s apples and oranges.

        The BLUNDER was drafting a guy with a BUM KNEE to essentially replace Buckner. Kinlaw was Blunder City, on the outskirts of Bust County, USA, lol!

  11. I will be hosting an Inside the 49ers Q&A tonight at 5:30. Respond with your 49ers related questions and I will get to them during the show. Will post a link as well so you can watch live. If you have a YouTube account, you can also comment during the show.

    Thank you all for the support.

  12. Jack,
    Is Jason Poe still on the 49ers practice squad? If so what positions have they been working him out at? Do you think there is any chance they could activate him this season?

  13. Oldcoach is right: Time to see if Poe can play. He did well in camp. Don’t let him stew on the PS.

    1. If they think Banks and Buford are better, he’s going to stew on the PS unless there’s an injury.

    1. I’m shocked. No details yet on what they paid. I didn’t think the Niners would pay the trade price.

  14. If McCaffery can stay healthy and Mitchell comes back that is one hell of a one, two punch. If the D can also get healthy I believe the 9ers could be the favorites in the NFC.

  15. Ian Rapoport
    @RapSheet
    Full terms:
    — The #49ers get star RB Christian McCaffrey.
    — The #Panthers get a 2nd round pick in 2023, a third-rounder in 2023, and a fourth-round pick in 2023. Plus, a fifth-rounder in 2024.

    1. Too much. Way too much. Shades of the 3 1sts & a 3rd for Trey Lance. The injury-prone McCaffrey joins the injury-plagued Niners under the hapless, panicky Kyle Shanahan. 3-5 at the bye. 8-9 to finish. Bank on it. Period. Over and out.

    2. Not a big fan of this move, if only because I’m wary of his injury history.

      He’ll be a big boost for this offense, but it’s a lot to pay for an injury riddled career.

      On the bright side I’ll quite enjoy game day shots of Olivia Culpo looking out from the luxury suites. 👄

    3. That’s certainly less that I expected. The Atlantic stated that Caroline originally asked for 2 firsts. What they got was much lower and a great price for the Niners.

      1. Lol at “Carolina originally asked for 2 firsts.”

        Are you the guy that regularly pays over MSRP on dealer lots?

        There’s no way in hell they were getting 2 firsts. Maybe the version of him from several years ago.

        Hopefully we get a comp pick for him if he’s gone after the year as part of some contract rework.

    1. a second-round, third-round, and fourth-round pick in 2023, along with a fifth-round pick in 2024.

  16. That means we won’t have a pick until the 3rd round this year. That makes for a boring draft. The 9ers could pick up 2 more 3rd rounders if JG signs with another team for enough money and Ryans gets a HC job

    1. I just dunno about this one, Old Coach. Lot to give up for a back that has been injured as much as McCaffrey. Could there be some panic in the air at Santa Clara???

      1. All the former NFL greats on Thursday night football think it is a steal for the Niners and I tend to agree. They seem to think he’ll play more at receiver than at running back. I can see how he could confuse the defense. Is this a run or a pass play? It will be interesting to see how he is used.

      2. Zero excuses now for KS if the offense still strugles. And who gets the ball now? We barely give Kittle and Aiyuk the ball. This will be interesting. But fun to watch for sure!

  17. I have a mixed feelings on this one! That is basically our entire draft next year for an injury riddle RB. We already have plenty of probowlers in the skilled position. And what is the use if we cannot create holes in the running game with our Oline. I thought we already have a loaded offense I guess KS have zero excuses now if this offense still strugles. And we bettere win the SB this year coz this trade sets our draft capitals way back.

    1. Desperation??? Panic??? Perhaps both as KS & JL realize they could be facing yet another 3-5 start. Have real misgivings about this trade.

  18. McCaffrey stays healthy it is a great trade
    McCaffrey gets injured it is a terrible trade
    Only time will tell
    It will be interesting to see if a healthy CM will be able to run behind this O line. I wonder if his contract will hamstring the 9ers in free agency? I was looking foreward to a very active off season as far as free agency goes, now the only signing may be Bosa.

  19. I don’t get why this is so confusing

    Jimmy best passes are behind the line of scrimmage – now we have 2 solid players jimmy can throw to

    its not that complicated

  20. Imlie (transl. Tamarind) is an Indian Hindi-language television drama series that premiered on 16 November 2020 on StarPlus and streams on Disney+ Hotstar.

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