SANTA CLARA – A month ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline, ever-active general manager John Lynch did not shoot down the possibility of a deal for Davante Adams, the Raiders’ disgruntled wide receiver and an East Palo Alto native.
Lynch, however, did not confirm a NFL Network report that the 49ers are in the mix of potential trade partners.
“Shoot, we like our group,” Lynch said Friday on his weekly segment on KNBR 680-AM. “Davante is a hell of a player. One thing we’ve shown is we’re always looking, we’re never afraid to look and see what’s out there. We’re never afraid to pull the trigger.
“Coming in this year, we feel our roster is in pretty good spot,” Lynch continued. “We have endured some injuries. But we will never say never, but it’s got to work for both sides. It’s got to work for us. I’m not going to comment on any specific player but we like where our roster is at.”
Salary cap ramifications are likely too prohibitive for the 49ers (2-2) to try outbidding potential suitors such as the New York Jets or the New Orleans Saints, both of whom have quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr) that could reunite with Adams.
Brandon Aiyuk is only a month removed from signing a four-year, $120 million deal that makes him almost untradeable. Unloading him would yield $18.4 million in dead money in 2025 and $5.5 million this year, according to OverTheCap.com. Even more costly would be trading Deebo Samuel ($9.5 million in dead money this year, $31.5 million next year). Jauan Jennings, with the fourth-most receiving yards this season, would yield a $1.6 million hit this year and $5 million mark next year if he’s dealt.
Aiyuk has yet to catch a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy through four games, and Lynch is preaching patience in that regard. “I’m saying just keep watching. He’s just getting going,” Lynch said. “Brandon, so much of the things he does don’t show up on a stat sheet: the way he blocks and the effect he has on a game. Each week he looks a little better.”
Aiyuk, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, simply described his four-game start as “solid.”
“He missed the entire offseason so there is timing and precision that goes with an offense and he’s becoming more comfortable every week. You’ll see the stats come,” Lynch said.
First-round draft pick Ricky Pearsall eventually will come to the 49ers’ offense, too. The 49ers delayed a chance to bring him back into practice this week, as he’s been on the Non-Football Injury List since surviving a gunshot wound through his chest in an Aug. 31 robbery in San Francisco.
“He didn’t have a setback. He just wasn’t quite there so we made the decision to hold him this week,” Lynch said. “The time is coming and it’s close. We’ll continue to monitor. When these guys are on Injured Reserve, you can’t put them out there at practice. You do as much as you can to see how they respond. … I don’t think it’s far but it didn’t quite happen this week. That was tough for him but he’ll be out there at some point making plays.”
In other roster matters, Lynch pointed to rookie Tatum Bethune, a seventh-round draft pick, as a potential replacement at middle linebcker in case Fred Warner remains sidelined by an ankle injury that forced Warner out before halftime of Sunday’s win and out of practice the past two days. “In training camp, we saw Tatum had the makeup of a guy who could be signal caller, the one with a coach in his ear. Tatum is that type of guy. he can grab a huddle, can communicate and is a tackling machine,” said Lynch, noting that De’Vondre Campbell, Dee Winters and the recently re-signed Jalen Graham could pick up the slack for Warner as well as the injured Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (calf; did not practice Thursday) and Curtis Robinson (season-ending knee injury last week).