The 2025 trade deadline was a chaotic one, with massive trades happening all throughout the league.
The San Francisco 49ers, however, did not get involved.
That was a bit surprising since the Niners battled to a 6-3 record in the first half of the season, despite being ravaged by injuries. Since San Francisco clearly has a good team, and this was the last major opportunity to upgrade the roster, everyone expected the organization to capitalize.
That didn’t happen.
The 49ers were rumored to be making calls about edge defenders, but ultimately, they were unable to get a deal done. While San Francisco has proven to be a resilient team year after year, not acquiring an edge defender at the trade deadline is something that could come back to haunt general manager John Lynch and Co. this season.
49ers will regret not trading for an edge defender
This season, San Francisco lost Nick Bosa to an ACL injury early in the year, and just recently, the team also lost rookie edge Mykel Williams to an ACL injury. Additionally, Bryce Huff has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Considering the health of the group, and the importance of the position, it seemed like a no-brainer that the 49ers would land an edge.
On Tuesday, San Francisco was reportedly trying to land New York Jets' pass rusher Jermaine Johnson II, but New York’s asking price of a second-round pick was too much to get the deal done. It’s understandable if the 49ers didn’t want to give up a second-round pick, but they should have landed one of the edges who were clear trade candidates.
The Philadelphia Eagles acquired Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins for a third-round pick, and it’s fair to ask why San Francisco couldn’t get a deal like that done. If not for Phillips, the 49ers could have explored landing one of Miami’s other pass-rushers in Bradley Chubb or Matthew Judon. It’s hard to imagine the Dolphins were also asking for an unreasonable price that San Francisco couldn’t justify spending.
Ultimately, this could be a day the 49ers eventually regret.
San Francisco will play in a lot of high-stakes games this season, either in the postseason, or late in the year trying to get into the postseason. Oftentimes, a good pass rush could be the difference in these games.
The 49ers won’t have a guy they can turn to and ask to close the show, and that’s a problem.