The San Francisco 49ers have struck a deal with the New Orleans Saints before Tuesday’s trade deadline. They’re sending linebacker Kwon Alexander to the Saints, offloading his bloated contract.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the 49ers will get a conditional fifth-round pick and likely a player in exchange for Alexander. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Kiko Alonso is the player San Francisco will receive as part of the package for Alexander.
49ers are acquiring a conditional 5th-round pick and likely a player in exchange for LB Kwon Alexander, per source. https://t.co/z3JjE6jiz9
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 2, 2020
Alexander was a Pro Bowler in 2017 with the Buccaneers but he’s only played 13 games for the 49ers since coming to San Francisco before the 2019 season. This season, he’s had issues with missed tackles and overaggressiveness in his pursuit of ball carriers, leading to gaffes for San Francisco’s defense.
The 49ers signed Alexander to a four-year, $54 million contract in 2019 and he was slated to have cap hits of more than $16 million in each of the next two seasons.
In five games this season, Alexander has 30 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.
The 49ers have depth at linebacker even with Alexander now gone. Fred Warner has become one of the best linebackers in football, and Dre Greenlaw, a fifth-round pick in 2019, has played extremely well this year and will see his role grow in place of Alexander.