The 49ers gave up a bunch of draft picks to acquire Christian McCaffrey this week. Could they try and get some of those back with a trade this offseason?
That’s the speculation according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, who believes that a potential trade could involve some shocking names.
On one hand, trading for McCaffrey makes more sense if Lance is the quarterback, given that he’ll be relatively cheap in 2023 and possibly still in 2024. Lance’s fifth-year option doesn’t come due until 2025, meaning the 49ers can easier surround him with plenty of expensive talent next season, even given the other contracts they have to complete this upcoming offseason.
On the other, one way to get back draft capital back is to trade Lance. If the 49ers think he isn’t the quarterback they believed they were getting in 2021, the haul they sent away to acquire him is a sunk cost. There would still be teams interested in acquiring Lance to be their quarterback of the future, even if he struggled with the 49ers.
It seems like a bit of a pipe dream that San Francisco would consider Lance a sunk cost even though he’s barely seen any game action. Barnwell believes this is only possible if the Niners go on another deep playoff run with Garoppolo, who they would then extend next offseason. If that happens, Barnwell believes Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts could be a target.
In this scenario, which would probably require a deep playoff run and excellent work on the offense, the Niners would re-sign Garoppolo to an extension this offseason. Lance still probably would net a late first-round pick or early second-round pick in return. I will admit the trade I keep coming back to — given Atlanta’s desire to run the ball and Shanahan’s stockpiling of positionless playmakers — is a swap of Lance for tight end Kyle Pitts. I’m not sure that solves the draft capital problem, but it’s fun to argue about.
Barnwell goes on to reiterate that this is all a “hypothetical” and that San Francisco could also trade the likes of a Brandon Aiyuk. The entire thing is of course predicated on the questionably sourced notion that San Francisco isn’t thrilled with the development of Lance.
Unfortunately, Lance didn’t get a chance to show his development this year, and no matter the circumstances, it would be a shocking if he never gets that chance with the 49ers.