The San Francisco 49ers have put themselves in the kind of spot every front office wants: undefeated, sitting at the top of the NFC, and still staring at plenty of roster gaps on both sides of the ball. That reality has already turned the weeks before the Nov. 10 deadline into full-on trade season, and the 49ers are right in the middle of it.
One name keeps coming up for San Francisco: DeForest Buckner. The former 49ers defensive tackle and current Indianapolis Colts lineman makes for an easy fit on paper. The Niners need help inside, the Colts are viewed as a team headed for a fire sale after letting Chris Ballard go, and the idea of a reunion carries obvious appeal.
But the better move is not the flashy one.
Buckner is still a top-tier defender, but he’s a 32-year-old on an expiring contract, and his game doesn’t line up cleanly with what San Francisco actually needs. He is more of a three-technique gap-shooter than a true run-stuffer at this stage, and the 49ers already have that type in Gracen Halton and Osa Odighizuwa.
The bigger problem is that Alfred Collins was supposed to handle the nose tackle role, but he’s out for the season with a torn patellar tendon. That leaves San Francisco looking for help that can actually stabilize the interior, not another player who would pull snaps away from the pieces already in place.
Then there’s the money. A trade for Buckner would almost certainly come with a contract extension, and that means paying him north of $20 million per year.
The 49ers simply don’t have that kind of room in 2027. If you’re surrendering a mid-round pick for a player on an expiring deal during the season, you’re not doing it as a rental.
You’re paying up, and San Francisco can’t afford to do that with Buckner.
Grover Stewart is the smarter target.
He may not bring the same name recognition, but Stewart better matches what the 49ers are missing. He’s a gap-plugger who can soak up double teams and create cleaner paths for the linebackers behind him. He has finished with at least 22 run stops in each of the last six seasons, and no 49ers defensive tackle came close to that in 2025.
Stewart is older too - he’s 33 and also on an expiring contract - but the price tag changes everything. At the cost of a late-round pick swap, the risk is a lot easier to live with.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell floated a deal that would send Stewart and a seventh-round pick to San Francisco for a sixth-round pick. Barnwell said, "Stewart isn't the most exciting addition, but he's the sort of player the Niners need."
For John Lynch, that’s the kind of move that makes sense: help the defensive front right away without boxing himself in long term.
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