The trade deadline is just a couple weeks away and there’s a clear need the 49ers need to address.
The NFL trade deadline is rapidly approaching and the San Francisco 49ers have a handful of positions they could address via the trade market. However, there’s one clear need they should aim to cross off first.
Before the trade deadline passes on November 5 at 1:00pm Pacific Time, the 49ers should add at least one additional edge rusher. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they added multiple the way they did last year when they acquired Randy Gregory from the Broncos and Chase Young from the Commanders.
There are arguments to be made that linebacker is a position of need. Safety could become an issue, and offensive line help is something every team needs.
An injury could change the entire calculus at the deadline for the 49ers, but going into Week 7 it’s clear that defensive end help is at the top of their list of needs.
This season the 49ers have registered only 13.0 sacks. Only 7.0 of those have come from defensive ends, including 3.0 from Nick Bosa, 2.0 from Leonard Floyd and 2.0 from Sam Okuayinonu. But even those sack totals are a little misleading.
Bosa has racked up 35 pressures and has a 20.2 percent pass rush win rate per Pro Football Focus. That’s the seventh-highest rate in the NFL among players with at least 100 pass rush snaps.
Floyd has accounted for 20 pressures, but his win rate is just 10.1 percent. Okuayinonu has nine pressures and a 14.8 percent pass rush win rate.
Yetur Gross-Matos wasn’t having a ton of success due in part to a knee injury that wound up landing him on IR. He had just five pressures and a paltry 10.4 percent win rate.
Robert Beal has yet to register a pressure in 22 pass rush reps.
It’s not a deep group for a club that built a defense where the pass rush is supposed to be the tip of the spear. They’ve had to make some adjustments with a higher blitz rate, and some strong play in the secondary has made up at times for a lack of pass rush. That unit cannot stay as presently assembled though or eventually the wheels are going to fall off.
Perhaps the 49ers make multiple additions. Perhaps they get hyper aggressive and go after a big name that comes available as teams fall further out of the playoff hunt. Either way, they need to make a trade to bolster their DE depth by the trade deadline or they may see their season come to an end sooner than they’re expecting.
It’s going to be all hands on deck for the San Francisco 49ers defensive line this season.
Javon Hargrave’s season-ending triceps injury put the 49ers in a bind up front where they’re now missing a major source of their pass rush. Hargrave last season in what was deemed a ‘down’ year still had the second-most pressures on the team with 64, and the third-best pass rush win rate.
While all eyes will inevitably turn to defensive ends Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd to pick up some of the slack, another unlikely hero is making his way into the spotlight.
Sam Okuayinonu, a 2022 undrafted free agent signing of the Titans, had only six games under his belt as a pro prior to this year. He posted 0.5 sacks in his six contests as a rookie for Tennessee. He had his first full sack against the Rams in Week 3 as a standard practice squad elevation.
Sunday against the Patriots he came up with a forced fumble and caught the eye of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
“Guys stepped it up,” Shanahan said Monday in a conference call. “Sam O who got his opportunity, he got it, I think, for the first time two weeks ago, but he’s been a beast in practice. And to watch him carry it over to the games is kind of what I’d like to say we expected because he’s been such a pain in practice and in a good way just for our offense to deal with. And it was cool to see him do it to somebody else here on Sunday.”
Okuayinonu posted three pressures in 10 pass rushes Sunday according to Pro Football Focus. His obscene 44.4 percent pass rush win rate was by far the best on the team.
It’s worth noting the Patriots’ offensive line is putrid and that most of the 49ers’ defensive front cooked against them. However, it’s clear through the last couple of weeks that Okuayinonu has a chance to be a much-needed contributor to the 49ers’ defensive end rotation.
That’s two starting edge rushers out for an undetermined stretch after the team already lost key reserve Sam Williams for the season during training camp. Things are dire and it may lead the front office to try and get some help from outside the organization.
Earlier in the day, anticipating this news, a list of 10 street free agents was put together. But those guys are on the street for a reason and there may not be much return there. It might take looking to other team’s rosters in order to stop the bleeding. So who exactly is available, or could be for the right price? A quick poll of NFL Wire editors about where their respective teams’ rosters stood revealed four names they thought their clubs would deem expendable for the right price. The conversation though starts with a player who has already asked to be traded from his current club.
Haason Reddick, NY Jets
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsPro-football-reference.com
Reddick was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the New York Jets over the summer, in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. Reddick hasn’t stepped foot inside the Jets facilities, holding out the entire training camp and regular season. He even demanded to be traded again in August after the two sides failed to rework his contract.
Reddick has been accruing fines and is weeks away from having his contract toll to 2025, which means he’ll be locked into the Jets for 2025 under the same terms if he doesn’t report by a deadline. It appears he feels slighted by the Jets so it’s unclear whether or not he’d play under his current contract for another team, but the Cowboys have the cap room to take on the final 14 weeks of his agreement, sitting over $25 million in the black after the extensions for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini laid out a scenario where Reddick’s reps appear to have hinted he’d like to return to Philly (via Bleacher Report), but would he take a trip to Dallas also? There are questions, of course.
If Reddick were willing to play without a new deal, would the Jets acquiesce? Would a 2026 third rounder or worth do the trick? How long of a ramp-up period would be required for a player who hasn’t worked out with a team all year? How long does Dallas think they’ll be without Parsons and Lawrence? Does the front office care more about winning in 2024 or cap space to carry over? In the likelihood those questions can’t be adequately addressed, there are some other options to explore.
Poach Candidate: San Okuyinonu, San Francisco 49ers
(Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Via Kyle Madison of Niners Wire: “Sam Okuayinonu on SF practice squad. Had a sack last week.”
Okuayinonu stands 6-foot-1, 269 pounds and has been in the league since 2022, starting with the Tennessee Titans.
Trade Candidate: James Houston, DE, Detroit Lions
Lions linebacker James Houston
Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire: “He’s on the 53 (healthy scratch weekly) but the Lions would certainly listen on James Houston.”
It appears that the 6-foot-1, 245 third-year player is caught behind a ton of talent and hasn’t been able to break into the rotation since being a sixth-round pick in 2022.
Trade Candidate: Pat Jones II, Minnesota Vikings
John Jones-Imagn Images
Andrew Harbaugh, Vikings Wire: “Pat Jones II is on the active roster but the Vikings are deep enough they may entertain trade talks for him (4 sacks through the first three weeks).”
The fourth-year pro stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 265 pounds and is actually an original draft pick of current Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, going in the third round in 2021. He has already matched his career high in sacks in a season with four.
Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15). Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Jon Heath, Broncos Wire: “Baron Browning has three more games on IR. Once he returns, Denver will have a surplus with Browning, Cooper, Bonitto, Elliss and Tillman. I think they’d definitely trade Bonitto, and once healthy, Browning too.”
Bonitto, 6-foot-3, 240 pounds and now in his third season in the league, has a sack on the season after notching eight last year. He was a second-round pick in 2022.
Browning, a third-round pick from 2021, stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 pounds. He had 4.5 sacks last year after five in 2022.
The Titans appear to have five players who are candidates to start training camp on the PUP list.
Injuries and the Tennessee Titans go together like peas and carrots after the team has been absolutely decimated by them the past two seasons. In fact, injuries in droves are practically expected for the franchise at this point.
With training camp rapidly approaching, it’s time to start taking a look around the trainer’s room to see who might start camp on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Players placed on the list before camp can be activated at any time during camp, so there’s no reason to panic at that point. But if a player remains on the list through camp, he’s transferred to the Reserve/PUP and must miss the first four games of the season.
As things stand now, it appears the Titans have five candidates for the list. It looked like they might have six after Kristian Fulton was absent for much of the offseason program, but his absence turned out to be the result of him taking a different approach to training this year.
For those wondering, #Titans CB Kristian Fulton has been training in Miami since season ended w/David Alexander @ DBC Fitness who worked w/LeBron James & Dwayne Wade. Fulton wanted to try something different to stay healthy. Workouts include yoga, pilates.https://t.co/1t5c3uYpJp
The Titans 2022 UDFAs who stood out the most this past season.
It’s no secret that the Tennessee Titans’ 2022 season was rather disappointing.
On top of missing the playoffs in an embarrassing fashion, several of their top players missed significant playing time throughout the year, ultimately robbing fans of seeing their favorite players compete.
However, if there’s one positive in the situation,the Titans were essentially forced to give playing time to several younger players and got to see who would sink or swim.
This forced said players to either prove they could handle the life of a backup in the NFL, while others simply couldn’t hack it. One of them even had a historic season and looks every bit like a generational talent at his position.
This article is going to highlight four undrafted rookies who not only made the team, but found a way to positively impact the squad throughout the year.
Before we go forward, here’s a look at the 17 UDFAs the Titans signed last offseason: OLB David Anenih, CB Tre Avery, RB Julius Chestnut, DT Haskell Garrett, ILB Jack Gibbens, S Michael Griffin II, G Hayden Howerton, WR Brandon Lewis, OT Jalen McKenzie (Southern Cal), C/G Xavier Newman-Johnson, DT Sam Okuayinonu, DE Jayden Peevy, WR Reggie Roberson, OL Andrew Rupcich, K Caleb Shudak, P Ryan Stonehouse, CB Tre Swilling.
Now, let’s dive right into the three undrafted rookies (and one honorable mention) who impressed most in 2022.
The Titans added two familiar names and one new one to the practice squad on Tuesday.
The Tennessee Titans filled their holes on the practice squad on Tuesday by adding three players to it.
The team announced it has signed outside linebacker Sam Okuayinonu, cornerback Shyheim Carter and defensive tackle Curtis Brooks to the practice squad.
A 2022 undrafted free agent signing of Tennessee, Okuayinonu has spent time on both the active roster and practice squad this season. He has 0.5 sacks and 11 tackles in six games this season.
Carter has been on Tennessee’s practice squad multiple times but has never gotten in a game for the Titans, or in the NFL in general.
Brooks is a brand new addition to the practice squad. A former sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, the Cincinnati product has never played a snap in the NFL.
The #Titans have signed OLB Sam Okuayinonu, CB Shyheim Carter, and DT Curtis Brooks to the team’s practice squad.
The Titans parted ways with two defenders on Friday.
The day after their Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Tennessee Titans parted with a pair of defenders on their 53-man roster.
The team announced it has waived defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu and cornerback John Reid from the active roster, but no corresponding moves were announced.
A 2022 UDFA signing of the Titans, Okuayinonu has spent time between the Titans’ practice squad and 53-man roster this season. He’s tallied 0.5 sacks and 11 tackles in six games.
Reid was inked to the 53-man roster in early December. He has since played in three games for Tennessee, but 33 of the 38 defensive snaps he played came in Week 15.
The Titans are hoping that one of those vacant spots on the roster will be filled with linebacker David Long, who is eligible to come off of injured reserve this week.
On Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel said he was hopeful Long could return to practice this week. He would offer a big boost ahead of a do-or-die Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Tennessee Titans announced a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday.
The Tennessee Titans announced a slew of roster moves on Tuesday, one of which included the promotion of defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu from the practice squad to the active roster.
Okuayinonu was a 2022 undrafted free agent signing of the Titans. After failing to make the initial 53-man roster, Okuayinonu was added to the practice squad.
To make room for Okuayinonu on the active roster, the Titans waived outside linebacker Wyatt Ray, who was added last week.
In addition to those moves, the Titans added two and subtracted one from the practice squad, signing running back Julius Chestnut and defensive back Shyheim Carter, and parting ways with offensive lineman Christian DiLauro.
Chestnut, who was a standout during training camp and the preseason before unexpectedly making the initial 53-man roster, was waived last week to make room for Ray.
After notching their second-straight win in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Titans will hit the road again on Sunday, facing the Washington Commanders in Week 5.
