49ers Staying Quiet at the Deadline Keeps Them on Their Off-Season Timeline
No movement now sets up for more in 2026
The trade deadline has come and gone for the 2025 season and despite reports the San Francisco 49ers were going to be big players at the deadline, they only brought in former New England Patriot Keion White. While fans and reporters expected them to help fill a hole or two on this injury riddled team, not making a move speaks to the plan they have in place, that was put in motion far before the trade deadline.
The 49ers this past off-season had a mass exodus of All-Pro, Pro Bowl, and starting talent. Deebo Samuel, Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga, and Dre Greenlaw were just a few of the many departures the 49ers faced. Even through this, they were not active in free agency with their biggest signings being Demarcus Robinson, Luke Farrell and Mac Jones. These signings do not exactly shout “all-in” like the 49ers have been over the past few seasons.
Several reports from Tim Kawakami and Mike Silver stated several times as the departures occurred it was a cash issue in San Francisco. Their goal was to off-load deals and get out from under some of these contracts they were looking back at and regretting. This has caused the 49ers to become one of the league leaders in dead cap space. Taking this all on this season was a part of the plan and impacted their trade deadline plans.
The 49ers hot 6-3 start is not something everyone outside of the building was expecting, which caused most to believe they would be going big fish hunting at the deadline for names such as Trey Hendrickson, Jermaine Johnson or Bradley Chubb. The harsh reality is, this maybe would have been the case several weeks ago but season ending injuries to Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams have changed that tune. Those blows seemed too much for this group to overcome and the silent trade deadline seems to indicate the front office believes so too.
Nick Wagoner of ESPN, reported Shanahan had a veteran players meeting over the off-season detailing the 49ers plan to rely heavily on them to help develop and set the standard for their 11 rookies making their way into the league.
This was clearly the goal of this 2025 season. Rely on your veterans and highest paid players like George Kittle, Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Brock Purdy, Trent Williams and others to set the standard and get younger as well as cheaper. The hot start probably had the front office thinking about changing this plan, but after Bosa and Warner, two pillars, not returning this season the writing was on the wall.
The 49ers were not going to overpay and harm their plan by over spending at the deadline. Most of the big trades at the deadline involved a first-round pick which the 49ers were never going to give up. Hendrickson was rumored to be available for a first-round pick which seems like an overpay for a 30-year-old edge rusher on an expiring contract. Jermaine Johnson’s price tag was reportedly a second-round pick. This also seems high for a player coming off of a torn Achilles last season.
While these two would have undoubtedly helped the 49ers this season, the timing did not seem to add up with where the team is at and it takes two to tango in any trade negotiation. The plan is still in place for the 49ers that they set out for this off-season. Unload contracts they regret and eat the dead cap this season, build up the young rookie class, and fight to make the playoffs with what started the year as one of the league’s easiest schedules.
At 6-3, the plan is probably going better than anyone could have imagined with all of the injuries they have dealt with. While it may sting now for 49ers fans, come draft season the 49ers not overpaying at the deadline will pay dividends.