The San Francisco 49ers have been hanging tough despite being ravaged by the injury bug for the second year in a row. Even though starting quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall have all missed a substantial amount of action, the team is currently 5-2 and in first place in the NFC West.
It has lost defensive end Nick Bosa and Mike linebacker Fred Warner, arguably its two best defensive players, to season-ending injuries, and now Bryce Huff, its other starting DE, is dealing with a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a while.
One has to wonder not if but when the compound effect of all these injuries will kick in - after all, last season, the Niners won a respectable five of their first nine games last season before the bottom fell out and they lost seven of their remaining eight contests.
Many have been talking trade when it comes to the Niners, and Niners Faithful has certainly been hoping for a big trade that will bring in a reinforcement by the Nov. 4 deadline. The team has been linked to a few notable players on the trade market, including Cincinnati Bengals star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
General manager John Lynch went on Bay Area radio station KNBR and said that no viable trade opportunity has presented itself, at least not yet.
In recent years, Lynch, who has been the Niners’ executive since 2017, hasn’t hesitated to make bold moves in order to upgrade his roster, whether he has done so during the offseason or ahead of the midseason trade deadline.
Three years ago, San Francisco shocked the NFL by trading for Christian McCaffrey, arguably the game’s best all-around running back, and just prior to Week 1, it swung a deal for Brian Robinson Jr. in order to beef up its depth behind McCaffrey.
San Francisco can certainly use help up front defensively, and it could be argued that it could use help at wide receiver as well. Brandon Aiyuk, who led it in receiving yards two years ago, tore his ACL midway through last season and has yet to play this year, and it doesn’t appear his return is imminent either.
The 49ers have been winning largely with defense and grit this season, and their defense looks revitalized under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who had held that post for them from 2017 to 2020 before leaving to become the New York Jets’ head coach. But grit and resolve can only take a team so far when its active roster is inferior to many of its opponents, and that is the situation the red and gold currently face.
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