The 49ers are sitting on a 6-1 start, but that hasn’t stopped the conversation about what they might still need before the trade deadline. With one of the oldest rosters in the NFL in 2026 and a schedule that’s now moving into the back half, San Francisco looks like a team that could be willing to keep adding to a 53-man roster built for a run.
That’s the lane ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took recently when he laid out deadline moves for Super Bowl contenders. For the 49ers, he pointed to two names with serious hardware attached: safety Jessie Bates III and defensive end Cameron Jordan.
Bates would give San Francisco the kind of veteran presence its safety group could use. The 29-year-old came out of Wake Forest after playing there from 2015-17, then went to the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He earned one All-Pro selection in five seasons with Cincinnati, then moved to the Falcons in 2023 and has since added two more All-Pro nods and a Pro Bowl.
On paper, the 49ers’ safety room has pieces. But adding Bates next to Ji’Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle and Malik Mustapha would change the feel of that group for opposing quarterbacks and coordinators.
Jordan would bring a different kind of value. The 37-year-old played at California from 2007-10 before the New Orleans Saints made him a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Across 16 seasons in New Orleans, he piled up 132 career sacks, along with eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro selections.
San Francisco is expected to get Nick Bosa back soon, but another experienced pass rusher would still make sense. Jordan could slide into the mix alongside Keion White and Romello Height on the other side, and he looks like the type of veteran who would fit neatly into what’s likely to be his final season.
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Even after working his way back from an Achilles injury, Kittle has remained one of the offenses most reliable playmakers, and he has said he wants to spend his entire career with the 49ers. For a player who has already passed one major franchise mark, the question now is how much more history he can stack before this run is over. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Could Still Make One Deadline Swing Fans Never Saw Coming
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The names being tossed around reflect the range of possibilities, from defensive help to offensive depth and even a familiar edge presence. Nothing is official, and this is still firmly in the speculative stage, but the fact that San Francisco can be mentioned in the same breath as so many different types of targets says plenty about where the team stands as the deadline approaches. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Have A Familiar Edge In The NFCs Biggest Race
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San Francisco has also tended to come out of the bye ready to play, which only adds to the sense that this team knows how to navigate the stretch run. The upcoming schedule still has to be played, but the 49ers enter it with a familiar edge and a recent track record that makes them look well positioned to keep control of the No. 1-seed chase. [Read more 🡒]