The San Francisco 49ers' biggest need is quietly a big run-stuffing interior defensive lineman. While a reunion with Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, the smarter move for the 49ers to make at the trade deadline would be to add his teammate, Grover Stewart.
San Francisco 49ers Could Trade for Grover Stewart
Bill Barnwell of ESPN outlined the trade as one of the 11 best deadline offers. Barnwell believes that the 49ers can trade a sixth-round pick to acquire Stewart and a seventh-round pick.
Barnwell notes that because he is a specialty player with one role in mind and he is in the last year of his contract, the team could get him for such a cheap cost.
“Adding Stewart to the defensive line rotation would go a long way in helping San Francisco plug up those run game woes,” wrote Barnwell. “The 33-year-old is a useful player and in the final year of his deal, but his contract is also expensive; he's owed $8.2 million in cash over the remainder of the season.”
The 49ers currently have over $40M in cap space for this season. They have some contract decisions to make next year, but they can roll over the money from this year to make the cap look much cleaner. Adding Stewart and his expiring deal would not be a major issue.
Stewart is a former fourth-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft. He is in his ninth season in the NFL, and he has started in at least 13 games in seven seasons of his career after he was a depth piece in the first two seasons.
Stewart has only 13.5 sacks, but he is such a good run defender that the pass rush stats do not matter. His run defense alone has made him $71M in his NFL career.
The Colts are 2-4, and they just fired their GM. Their season is not going anywhere. They could have a run defender on their team to try to stay competitive in games where they are overmatched. He will likely leave in free agency, considering the GM who kept him so long just got fired. So, they will gain nothing by having him this year or in the future.
Or, they can move up a few picks in the draft while clearing some cap space to roll over for next year. It is better than nothing from the Colts' perspective.
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