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Identifying a few players who would make sense for the Los Angeles Chargers via trade.
The Chargers have been hit with injuries to key players, but it’s safe to say their roster is still solid. Nonetheless, a couple of position groups could be revamped as we near the halfway point of the season.
With that in mind, let’s identify a few players who would make sense for Los Angeles via trade, with the deadline quickly approaching on November 1.
The San Francisco 49ers just got a lot better and the Carolina Panthers are a lot worse.
The San Francisco 49ers just got a lot better, and the Carolina Panthers are a lot worse, which is saying something for a 1-5 team on a three-game losing streak. The Panthers are already in tear-down mode, having traded Robbie Anderson to the Cardinals on Monday. This deal sends McCaffrey to San Francisco in return for the Panthers second-, third-, and fourth-round picks in 2023, plus a 2024 fifth-rounder. It did not include a first-round pick as initially desired, but loads the Panthers draft next season with multiple picks when they welcome another coach who will be starting from scratch.
The Panthers will acquire another free-agent running back for depth, but the team turns to D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard as the starters. Foreman will be the primary back and he helped to replace Derrick Henry in Tennessee last season when he was injured in Week 8. Foreman went on to gain 100-yards in three games and scored three times in the second half of that season.
Chuba Hubbard filled in for McCaffrey last season but recorded just one game of note – 101 yards in 24 carries in Week 5. Hubbard was far less effective as a replacement than what Foreman has done in the past. He’ll take the smaller portion of touches for the Panthers’ backfield.
The addition of McCaffrey to the San Francisco backfield erases the depth chart and rewrites all of their roles. HC Kyle Shanahan’s offense was a productive backfield during his five previous seasons with the team but has featured a different primary back in every season. They have mixed and matched a constantly changing set of running backs, and Elijah Mitchell was the top back in 2021. The oft-injured Mitchell already landed on injured reserve this year. Jeff Wilson was the replacement and he’s turned in around 100 total yards in most of those games.
While the 49ers have employed a committee approach during Shanahan’s years, they are not shy about riding a single back when it makes sense. Wilson already had three games with at least 18 touches this year. Mitchell played in 11 games in 2021 and handled over 19 touches in all but two games. McCaffrey comes over with an injury history himself but has been far healthier this year than in 2020 and 2021 when he missed 23 of 33 games.
This is a significant upgrade for the 49ers’ backfield with a depth chart that becomes reshuffled. The 49ers have already shown a desire to give 20+ touches to their primary back, and none have been the quality of McCaffrey. He’ll slide in as the leading rusher and should see the same 18 carries or more. What remains to be seen is how his role as a receiver is handled. McCaffrey is arguably the best receiving running back in the NFL and recorded over 100 catches in 2018 and 2019 in his last healthy seasons.
The 49ers only ranked No. 19 in completions to running backs (82) last year. The busiest receiver from the backfield was Kyle Juszczyk with 30 receptions. McCaffrey’s dual role makes him the most dangerous and there’s no doubt that the 49ers’ offense will bend toward using him more as a target.
His inclusion is great for both the team and him since he lands on a contender that has a far better offensive line than what he left in Carolina. But it is not a plus for the other running backs or receivers. McCaffrey may take a few weeks to get up to speed with his new team, but the roles of Jeff Wilson and the rest of the backs likely take a dive below any fantasy relevancy. Elijah Mitchell’s eventual return is now mostly meaningless.
But it is not just the running backs. Deebo Samuel already has 23 rushes for 136 yards – which may continue since he’s been only used for a handful of carries in recent games, but the backfield pass targets are sure to increase with McCaffrey on board and they have to come from somewhere. George Kittle’s role has to be dinged by the short-catch specialist. It won’t happen this week and will evolve over time, but the offense would not acquire McCaffrey without intending to continue his high production. And it could be even higher here with better blocking and enough weapons around him that McCaffrey cannot be the sole focus of the opposing defense.
Will the #49ers be involved in the trade market ahead of the trade deadline? Kyle Shanahan issued his standard answer.
The NFL trade deadline is just under two weeks away and a 3-3 start with a slew of injuries could push San Francisco to be active. Head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t changed his standard answer for any trade scenarios though and didn’t divulge anything one way or the other on the 49ers’ potential activity in the trade market.
Shanahan several times during the offseason when Deebo Samuel trade talk was at its heaviest, and throughout his tenure with the 49ers, has indicated the club will at least look at any potential trades that arise. That remained his answer Wednesday.
“I know we look into everything, so if there’s something that makes sense that we can pull off, I know we’ll never hesitate to do that,” Shanahan said. “It’s a hard thing to do, I think for all teams, but that’s something we always look into.”
Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is the hot name on the trade market this year and reporting from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero and Yahoo’s Charles Robinson indicate at least an interest in McCaffrey from San Francisco. Whether there’s any real potential for a deal remains to be seen, but it’s not a surprise the 49ers would explore that option since Shanahan’s common refrain is that the team will do any move they think gets them closer to a championship.
A more realistic move will probably make smaller waves than McCaffrey. San Francisco did make a move for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in 2019, which is perhaps the most notable in-season trade they’ve made. Other acquisitions have been players like DE Jordan Willis and DE Charles Omenihu. Those are depth pieces at a premium position that the 49ers believe are undervalued and acquired for late-round draft compensation.
There may or may not be a trade executed by the 49ers ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline, but as per usual, they’ll look into anything that might come up.
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The #49ers should pull the trigger on a Christian McCaffrey trade. @nicholasmcgee24 explains:
The 49ers produced the performance that brought about the end of the Matt Rhule era for the Carolina Panthers just over a week ago, now there’s talk they could be one of the beneficiaries of the in-season changes for that beleaguered franchise.
San Francisco routed Carolina 37-15 in Week 5 in what proved to be Rhule’s last game as the Panthers’ head coach. With the Panthers clearly pondering which players are likely to be an integral part of their plans going forward, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported they are listening to trade offers for star running back Christian McCaffrey.
Following that report, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports wrote that the 49ers, Broncos, Rams and Bills are among the teams to have shown interest in acquiring McCaffrey.
Trading for McCaffrey, which may well involve parting with multiple draft picks, would see the 49ers invest more capital into a position where they have already spent significant resources. The Niners used a third-round pick on Tyrion Davis-Price this year and released last year’s third-round selection, Trey Sermon, before the season.
San Francisco boasts significant talent in the backfield, with Jeff Wilson Jr. playing well in the absence of the injured Elijah Mitchell and Tevin Coleman scoring two touchdowns against Carolina after being activated from the practice squad. Davis-Price returned from an ankle sprain in Week 6 while undrafted free agent Jordan Mason impressed in preseason.
The Niners also have the changeup of putting Deebo Samuel at running back, a switch that produced remarkable results last season, but they do not have a back who possesses McCaffrey’s skill set as runner and a pass-catcher.
And the motivation to acquire him may be higher after the 49er running game fell flat in their surprise Week 6 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons, in which San Francisco managed just 50 yards on the ground.
Trading for McCaffrey would give the 49ers a still explosive back who can create yardage for himself more consistently than the likes of Wilson and Coleman and put stress on defenses with what he can do underneath as a receiver.
McCaffrey ranks ninth in Football Outsiders DYAR metric, which measures total value, among running backs on carries this season. He is fifth in the same metric for his position on receiving plays.
No running back in the NFL has averaged more receiving yards per game than McCaffrey’s 51.4 since he entered the league in 2017. Alvin Kamara is the sole back to rack up more overall receiving yards during that period, putting up 3,398 to McCaffrey’s 3,292, but has played 77 games to McCaffrey’s 64.
In addition to giving the 49ers a skill set they do not have at running back, McCaffrey would also further solidify San Francisco’s depth in the backfield, giving further protection against more injuries at the position, with Mitchell not due to return until after the Week 9 bye.
San Francisco’s rushing game has not performed efficiently this season. The 49ers are 25th in Football Outsiders DVOA, a measure of per play value, in rushing offense and rank in the same lowly position in Expected Points Added per rush, per rbsdm.com.
McCaffrey is the kind of talent who can greatly improve San Francisco’s output on the ground and also significantly increase the 49ers’ threat out of two-running back personnel packages in a scenario where they acquire him and put the former Stanford star on the field at the same time as a healthy Mitchell.
Shanahan may be tempted to lean more heavily on Samuel as a runner in the wake of a disappointing showing on the ground against Atlanta. Trading for McCaffrey would lessen the need for San Francisco to do so and allow the 49ers to focus on maximizing what Samuel can do as a traditional wide receiver.
The cost for San Francisco is unlikely to be cheap, and spending significant capital on a non-premium position can be tough to justify. Yet the case for McCaffrey is an easier one to make.
He would make the 49ers a deeper and more efficient offense and has an affordable base salary of $1.035 million for the 2022 season.
Striking a deal would be a clear signal the 49ers believe they have a team that can threaten to go to the Super Bowl despite their up and down start to the season. With the talent they have on both sides of the ball and the dominant manner in which their banged-up defense had performed prior to the letdown in Atlanta, there is significant evidence to suggest that, when the Niners are healthy, that assessment is correct.
A trade for McCaffrey would be an all-in move for the 49ers. In a season where the Philadelphia Eagles are the only obvious NFC frontrunner, the timing may be right for the Niners to increase their chances of coming out of a wide-open conference by making a push for a player who could get them firing on all cylinders on the ground and take the pressure off Jimmy Garoppolo.
It must come at the right price, but a deal with Carolina to land McCaffrey could be just what the 49er offense needs to help San Francisco emerge as an undoubted NFC contender.
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Who’s the best team between Bills/Chiefs/Eagles, which trades need to happen, and should there be a new QB in New England? 4-Down Territory investigates.
Every week in “4-Down Territory,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire and Draft Wire go over the things you need to know about, and the things you need to watch, in the NFL right now. With Week 6 of the 2022 NFL season in the books, there was a lot to cover!
This week, Doug and Luke discuss:
You can watch this week’s 4-Down Territory right here.
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According to a report by the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Falcons have traded linebacker Deion Jones to the Browns for a late-round pick.
The Atlanta Falcons have traded former Pro Bowl linebacker Deion Jones to the Cleveland Browns for a late-round draft pick, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Jones, 27, started 83 games for the Falcons since being selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft out of LSU. When the season began, the team placed Jones on injured reserve and later restructured his contract.
Sources: The #Browns are adding some key help in the middle of their defense, trading for #Falcons Pro Bowl LB Deion Jones in exchange for late-round draft compensation. pic.twitter.com/jaogjvtjy8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 10, 2022
This trade helps give the Falcons some long-term clarity as they get out of Jones’ contract, and the Browns are getting a former Pro Bowl player who should be motivated for very little money.
As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network points out below, the Falcons will carry a dead cap hit of $12.14 million in 2023, but Jones has no guaranteed money beyond 2022.
The #Falcons will carry a $12.14 million dead cap hit in 2023 from Deion Jones, who has no guarantees remaining on his contract beyond 2022.
The #Browns owe Jones about $1.39 million in salary for the rest of this season, plus $31,250 for each game he's active.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 10, 2022
According to Over The Cap’s projections, the Falcons have $7,791,023 in cap space after trading Jones. As for the compensation, Albert Breer is reporting Atlanta will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick from Cleveland in exchange for Jones and a 2024 seventh-round pick.
Full terms of the Falcons/Browns deal (trade first reported by @RapSheet), per source …
Browns get: LB Deion Jones, 2024 7th-round pick.
Falcons get: 2024 6th-round pick.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 10, 2022
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There was interest from other teams in Jimmy Garoppolo, but the QB wound up back in San Francisco.
Jimmy Garoppolo is still a 49er, but it wasn’t for a lack of interest from other clubs.
Garoppolo and general manager John Lynch on Thursday in separate press conferences indicated there were discussions with other clubs about acquiring the 30-year-old signal caller.
The 49ers were always clear that their intention was to trade Garoppolo, but there was never confirmation about any deals they’d come close to making prior to Garoppolo’s shoulder surgery. Lynch on Thursday said they were close to a trade with multiple clubs.
“Yeah, that’s always an interesting question, because it’s not like someone emails you here’s our offer,” Lynch said. “It’s discussions, and what I can tell you is, with great confidence, combine time there were really serious talks with probably two, three teams that I felt like, you’d have to ask them, like this was going to happen. And that’s when that news broke (about Garoppolo’s surgery), and then things went where they went.”
Surgery for Garoppolo didn’t permanently derail the trade market necessarily. The 49ers still allowed teams to negotiate with Garoppolo’s representation about cutting down his $24.2 million salary. The QB said no trade offers came in specifically, but there were definitely inquiries from clubs.
“Not to that degree,” Garoppolo said about trade offers. “A little different verbiage, I guess you could say, but there was a lot of discussions with other teams.”
Ultimately Garoppolo determined the best course of action for him and his career was to stay in San Francisco on a restructured deal.
“Yeah, you always have to think about that,” Garoppolo said. “It’s as much as you’re in it for the wins and everything like that, you have to look into the future a little bit, contract situations and all that. And I think everybody does that to a certain degree and you have to be smart in that sense of it, but at the end of the day, I’m a 49er right now and I’m happy about that.”
Garoppolo will have a chance to hit the free agent market next season with his value increased significantly depending on how this season plays out.
For San Francisco the trade talks and Garoppolo’s discussions with other clubs provide some backing to the notion that this plan came together in the few days before Garoppolo signed the deal. That’s how it was presented by Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan in their conference call with media Tuesday. Some speculated they actually held onto Garoppolo in case they didn’t like what they saw from Lance in training camp.
Perhaps that’s still the case and the 49ers only pulled the trigger on the Garoppolo move because they wanted to hedge their bet on their change under center.
Either way they weren’t able to trade Garoppolo this offseason when it was their top priority after their season ended. It wasn’t for a lack of offers though, and now they’ve brought him back to set up one of the strangest QB situations of all-time.
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Jameis Winston’s injury scare is a reminder why the 49ers are holding onto Jimmy Garoppolo.
Any quarterback injury in training camp will have a ripple effect that rapidly touches the 49ers. That’s why it resonated in the Bay Area when Saints quarterback Jameis Winston had to leave practice with what turned out to be a foot injury. After practice Saints head coach Dennis Allen called it a “tweak,” and didn’t have an update beyond that. Now Nick Underhill, who covers the Saints for NewOrleans.Football, is reporting the injury isn’t believed to be major.
It’s not a slam dunk that the Saints would even call the 49ers about Garoppolo if they did lose Winston for an extended period of time though. They signed veteran Andy Dalton in the offseason, and New Orleans could opt to just roll with him as their QB1 if Winston is sidelined for any amount of time.
However, the injury scare was a reminder of why the 49ers are hesitant to release Garoppolo before they absolutely have to on August 30. He’s a starting-caliber QB and all it takes is one injury for Garoppolo to suddenly become extremely valuable for a team like New Orleans that hopes to contend.
Until Winston is back in action though, all eyes in Santa Clara will be on the Saints to see if they have any interest in adding a new QB.
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NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport indicated the 49ers won’t do Jimmy Garoppolo any favors by cutting him early.
The 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo still have a good working relationship. How far San Francisco is willing to go to help their former starting QB has its limits though.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Sunday reported in a hit for NFL Network that with no clear trade partner developing, the 49ers are willing to keep Garoppolo on their roster all the way until August 30 when rosters are cut from 80 to 53.
If they keep Garoppolo beyond that date his $24.1 million base salary becomes fully-guaranteed.
This is the correct move for the 49ers. They’re doing what’s best for their club by keeping Garoppolo as long as possible in case a team develops a need at QB and wants to compensate San Francisco to take the veteran signal caller from them.
Doing this could adversely affect Garoppolo in 2022 though. The longer he’s on the 49ers’ roster the harder it will be for him to catch on with a team in time to play in Week 1. That ship might have even sailed by now.
We speculated the 49ers would do Garoppolo a favor and release him early to give him time to sign on with a new club and compete for a starting spot. They don’t appear inclined to do that.
Alas, the Garoppolo saga in San Francisco continues, and he could officially be a 49er all the way through the preseason. This isn’t the way the 49ers envisioned their split with Garoppolo happening, but playing it out this way with the hand they’ve been dealt makes the most sense.
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Hope lives for #49ers in their quest to trade Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers’ offseason quarterback roller coaster got another twist Monday morning.
Just when it seemed like the trade destinations for Jimmy Garoppolo had all but dried up, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported that with training camps getting ready to open, NFL executives are still expecting Garoppolo to be traded by the end of July.
This would be an ideal scenario for San Francisco. They’ve held on to Garoppolo through June and into July in hopes of eventually getting something in return for him. After Baker Mayfield was traded to the Panthers it appeared the 49ers’ opportunities to recoup some value for the veteran signal caller were gone.
Cleveland and Seattle are the two teams that stick out as possible landing spots for Garoppolo, although both clubs have question marks at quarterback that may be answerable without Garoppolo’s services.
Assuming the 49ers are able to swing a trade for their QB, the question then becomes about compensation. Cleveland had to eat $10.5 million of Mayfield’s $15.3 million salary in order to earn a conditional Day 3 pick in the 2024 draft.
An acquiring team in a Garoppolo trade may want the 49ers to consume a portion of his salary as well. He’s due $25.55 million for the acquiring team. It becomes a question if San Francisco does have to cover some of the cost of that deal whether it’s worth it to gain a mid-round pick in return.
