SANTA CLARA — Right on cue every October, John Lynch dials up the NFL’s trade-market hotline, typically seeking a pass rusher.
The 49ers need one more than ever in Lynch’s tenure as general manager, now that a surprising 4-1 start has morphed his shorthanded squad back into an NFC contender.
“I’m having a lot of conversations, a lot of good and productive ones,” Lynch said Thursday on KNBR 680-AM. “It is a premium position, so teams don’t like just letting those guys out the door when they’re good football players.”
Bryce Huff joined the 49ers four months ago in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the 49ers (4-1) desperately need another sack artist opposite him, having lost Nick Bosa to a season-ending knee injury in the Sept. 21 home opener.
The 49ers’ game-by-game sack total: 1, 3, 1, 0, 1. Only the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers have fewer, at five sacks each this season.
“We’ll continue to grow. I’m not hitting any panic buttons,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “There are a lot of young guys in there trying to find their way through the NFL.”
Bosa had a sack each of the first two games, Huff is up to three sacks, and rookie nickel back Upton Stout owns the only other sack for the 49ers, who will need pressure Sunday (1:25 p.m., CBS) to disrupt Baker Mayfield’s hot start with the 4-1 Tampa Bay Bucs.
As heroic as the 49ers’ run defense was in last Thursday’s 26-23 overtime win over the host Los Angeles Rams, the pass rush is missing Bosa as expected.
“You have to identify the right guy that, No. 1, is going to help us,” Lynch added. “I’ve been very clear: you’re not going to find a player, you know, that’s going to go replace Nick Bosa and be as effective as him.”
Bosa had a strip-sack fumble recovery to clinch the opening win at Seattle, then added another sack at New Orleans while Huff’s fumble-forcing sack sealed that Week 2 victory. Once Bosa tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the home opener, the 49ers were in dire need of a pass rusher.
“That’s really difficult to do, but can you find someone who makes the entirety of our group better, such that collectively we’re better?” Lynch stated. “That’s, you know, more in line with what we’re looking for.”
The likeliest candidates are on expiring contracts on a losing team, such as Troy Hendrickson (Bengals), former 49er Arden Key (Titans), Cal product Cam Jordan (Saints), and Miami’s Jaelan Phillips, who broke Jimmy Garoppolo’s foot in 2022 and launched Brock Purdy’s starting career.
The 49ers are still waiting for the first career sacks from first-round draft pick Mykel Williams and defensive tackles Alfred Collins (second round) and C.J. West (fourth round). Collins resumed practicing Thursday with a large brace on his right knee.
Veteran Sam Okuayinonu, Bosa’s replacement in the lineup, has no sacks in his past 14 games, and he has no quarterback hits in 181 snaps this season. Robert Beal Jr. has a similar line: No sacks in 15 straight games, and no quarterback hits since his lone career sack in the 2023 season finale.
Yetur Gross-Matos has no sacks in 87 snaps this season, and a hamstring injury last game could shelve him, along with a knee issue he’s battled since the 2024 preseason. Trevis Gipson played just eight snaps but made a key play (fumble recovery) in last Thursday’s overtime win at Los Angeles.
Lynch did not publicly chastise that group, saying: “Right now, I’m real proud of the way the effort our guys are playing with. If we find a way to make our football team better and it aligns, then we will not be shy in pulling the trigger.”
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He has pulled trade-deadline deals in the past for defensive linemen Jordan Willis (2020), Charles Omenihu (2021), Randy Gregory (2023), and Chase Young (2023). Offensive stars also arrived before the deadline: quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (2017), wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (2019) and Christian McCaffrey (2022).
The current corps is focused on Mayfield, not the trade market.
“Baker Mayfield is a great player. He’s really emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL,” Mykel Williams said. “It’s always exciting when you get a chance to go against somebody like that. He’s a relentless competitor, a quarterback that can do it all. He’s a real dog.”
PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
Brock Purdy (toe) ran on a side field with Ricky Pearsall (knee) while Jauan Jennings (rib, ankle) returned to practice.
Mac Jones (knee, oblique) was suited up for practice but was not throwing to receivers in warmups. Backup Adrian Martinez threw along with quarterbacks coach Mick Lombardi and assistant equipment manager Doc Dressler.
Running back Christian McCaffrey and left tackle Trent Williams practiced after their typical veteran rest day on Wednesday.
DEFENSIVE FLASHBACK
Last Thursday’s defensive heroics have not escaped Saleh’s mind, and he shared his insights into both the fourth-down, game-ending stop and Collins’ forced fumble at the 1-yard line with a minute left in regulation.
On the grand finale tackle of Kyren Williams for no gain, Saleh said: “It was one of those take-a-shot deals. It was one of their best plays and they’re very, very successful at it. It was the third or fourth time we saw it. Our guys triggered, took their shot and made the play.”
On Collins’ touchdown-preventing forced fumble and recovery, Saleh noted that the 6-foot-5 rookie gives their defensive front its best length since DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead patrolled the interior.
“To strain and make the effort to split the double team and make the violent punch out, it’s one of the coolest efforts I’ve seen from a defensive lineman,” Saleh said.
