The 2025 trade deadline is here, and there will undoubtedly be plenty of moves made before the end of the day Tuesday.
The Week 9 games helped teams decide whether they wanted to be buyers or sellers. One team that will almost definitely buy is the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers took down the New York Giants in Week 9 and improved to 6-3 on the season.
Normally, a team would likely be pretty happy with a 6-3 record at this point. However, the NFC West is tough this season, and the 49ers are currently behind the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams in the standings.
As a result, the team may feel like a move or two can help them close the gap. Justin Melo of The Draft Network believes the team could go after edge-rusher Arden Key to give the pass-rush a boost.
Key is currently withering away on the dreadful Titans, and is set to be a free agent after the season. The veteran has played in five games and has collected six tackles, one tackle for loss, and 1.5 sacks so far in 2025.
Regarding Key and the 49ers, Melo offered the following:
The San Francisco 49ers were already desperate at EDGE after losing Nick Bosa to a season-ending injury. They went out and acquired Keion White and Clelin Ferrell. They now fear that first-round pass rusher Mykel Williams suffered an ACL injury in Sunday's win over the New York Giants.
Williams' setback should thrust 49ers general manager John Lynch back into the market. The Titans have several pass rushers on expiring contracts available for trade. Arden Key is a natural fit. Key recorded 6.5 sacks for the 49ers in 2021, with the same head coach (Kyle Shanahan) and defensive line coach (Kris Kocurek) still in place.
As Melo mentioned, the 49ers were very thin on the edge heading into Week 9. The team lost star edge-rusher Nick Bosa earlier this season, and recently added Keion White and Clelin Ferrell to try and make up for the loss.
However, rookie first-rounder Mykel Williams suffered an ACL injury in Week 9, further weakening the team's edge-rusher group. As a result, it seems like a certainty the team will look to add at least one more edge-rusher, and Key makes a ton of sense.
Key played for the 49ers back in 2021 and recorded 22 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and five tackles for loss. The 49ers still have largely the same coaching staff, so there's some familiarity there. That 2021 performance is tied for the most sacks Key has had in a season. The veteran also had 6.5 sacks for the Titans in 2024.
With the Titans sitting as one of the worst teams in the league, and Key heading for free agency, it seems like a no-brainer that he'll be playing elsewhere in Week 10. The 49ers may try to take a bigger swing for an edge-rusher, but Key would be a fine consolation prize.
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