5 Players the 49ers Could Trade This Offseason

The 49ers roster could like quite different next season.

They'll have more than 30 free agents, plus they'll have a new starting quarterback who's completely different than the previous starting quarterback, and they'll have to build around the new one's strengths. Unfortunately for the 49ers, they don't have a first-round pick this year. Which means they could trade a player or two for some picks.

Here are five players the 49ers could trade this offseason.

1. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead.

Armstead played extremely well toward the end of the season, but was a ghost in the NFC Championship and has recorded just 12.5 sacks in his past 35 games. He has the ability to take over games, but does so quite infrequently. And next season, he will cost the 49ers $20 million, which will be 9.6 percent of their cap space. So if they can trade him for a first-round pick, they should.

Likelihood of getting traded: 2 out of 10.

2. Tight end George Kittle.

When the 49ers extended Kittle's contract, they thought their offense woud revolve around him, and so they paid him like a top-flight wide receiver. Next season, they'll pay him more than $16 million. But their offense doesn't go through him anymore -- it goes through Deebo Samuel. Now, Kittle is the second banana in a run-first offense. And so, he gained fewer than 30 receiving yards in five of the 49ers' final six games of 2021, including the NFC Championship. He became an afterthought for the 49ers, but surely is worth a first-round pick to some other team that would want to feature him the way the 49ers used to.

Likelihood of getting traded: 4 out of 10.

3. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

The 49ers were 3-5 when Mike McGlinchey suffered a season-ending torn quadriceps, they they won nine of their reamining 12 games without him. Backup right tackle Tom Compton proved to be no worse than McGlinchey, who is much more expensive than Compton -- next season, McGlinchey will cost the 49ers almost $11 million. They should trade him and spend that money on better players.

Likelihood of getting traded: 6 out of 10.

4. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

Greenlaw missed all but three games this season with a groin injury. His replacement, Azeez Al-Shaair, proved to be an upgrade over Greenlaw. So a trade would be in the best interest of both him and the team.

Likelihood of getting traded: 8 out of 10.

5. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

The 49ers kept Garoppolo in 2021 to resuscitate his trade value and give Trey Lance a chance to develop on in practice. In their eyes, they accomplished both objectives. Now it's time to trade Garoppolo and create more than $24 million in cap space which the 49ers can use to extended the contracts of Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa.

Likelihood of getting traded: 10 out of 10.