John Lynch: 49ers in trade talks for Goodwin, not three others
John Lynch was willing to admit the 49ers are interested in trading one of their veteran players, but would not confirm the team is shopping three others.
“The one guy where there’s actively discussions going on right now is Marquise Goodwin,” Lynch said in a video conference call Monday. “That’s something we’ve been clear on.”
Goodwin, 29, missed 12 games the past two seasons and went on injured reserve late in 2019 with a knee injury. San Francisco is widely expected to add at least one receiver during the NFL Draft later this week, which might make it difficult for the speedster to stick around on his $4.9 million cap charge in 2020.
Goodwin in 2019 had just 12 catches for 186 yards in nine games while falling out of the rotation behind Emmanuel Sanders, Deebo Samuel and Kendrick Bourne. Receiver remains a glaring need for San Francisco after Sanders joined the Saints in free agency last month.
Despite the ongoing conversations, Lynch said trading Goodwin was not finalized, though discussions have gone pretty far.
“There’s a scenario where Marquise can help us. He brings a lot to the table,” he said. “And so, we have been in discussions and came close a couple times. ... He’s a guy, because we know he has value, we continue to hang on (to) and we’ll see if something happens here as we approach (the draft).”
Lynch was asked about his reaction to a report from former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, who currently writes for The Athletic, who Tweeted Monday: “From talking to teams around the league 49ers want to clean up some cap issues and have made Dee Ford and Kwon Alexander along with Goodwin and (Jaquiski) Tartt available for trade. Will they get takers? Not sure but all four names are on the available list for the right price.”
Lynch indirectly shot down the idea the 49ers were trying to offload Ford, Alexander and Tartt. Goodwin’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout the offseason.
“It’s that time of year where there’s reports of that nature. ... The other guys we love and are really looking forward to playing with moving forward,” Lynch said.
Like Goodwin, Ford, Alexander and Tartt are also veterans playing on non-rookie contracts who missed considerable time last season. Ford played 22 percent of the snaps with knee and hamstring issues despite being the team’s highest-paid defender.
Alexander tore a pectoral on Halloween that cost him the final eight games a year after a midseason ACL tear with the Buccaneers in October 2018. Alexander returned off injured reserve for the playoffs and made a tangible impact as the emotional leader of the defense, but reportedly required surgery to repair a biceps injury this offseason.
Tartt, meanwhile, missed the final four games of the regular season with a rib injury but returned for the playoffs. He’s dealt with recurring shoulder stingers throughout his career and missed 15 games in 2016 and 2017 combined. He’s in the final year of his contract.
Why would the 49ers consider trading away veterans while their championship window appears wide open?
Ford ($15.9 million), Tartt ($6.3 million) and Alexander ($4.5 million in 2020 before jumping to $16.5 and $16.6 million the following two seasons) make considerable salaries while the team is strapped for cap space. San Francisco has some $13.4 million room and needs to put together long-term contracts for players like tight end George Kittle and linebacker Fred Warner, who could get deals at the top of their respective positions at some point over the next two years.
Alexander was capably replaced by rookie fifth-round pick Dre Greenlaw during his injury absence in 2019. Tartt’s understudy, Marcell Harris, struggled in coverage while Tartt was sidelined, but the 49ers might consider drafting a safety this week to groom as Tartt’s long-term replacement.
Finding a replacement for Ford might be more difficult, particularly after the team traded away star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner last month for the No. 13 pick in the draft. The 49ers gave up their 2020 second-round pick for Ford in the trade with the Chiefs before last season.
“I understand that he didn’t play as much as we would want,” Lynch said. “His body didn’t allow for that last year. What I do know, when he was on there, we were a different team. So would we change that? Absolutely not.”