Three Trade Destinations for Matt Breida

Restricted free agent running back Matt Breida officially signed his one-year tender with the 49ers on Apr. 16.

Breida now is locked in for the 2020 season with hopes of redeeming his role as a contributor. However, I would not get too comfortable envisioning Breida in a 49ers uniform this season.

As it stands, there are five running backs on the roster. Breida is the second-most expensive one because the 49ers gave him a second-round tender, so his salary is set at $3.259 million for 2020. That number is way too high for a guy who found himself in the doghouse.

This is why there is a likely possibility the 49ers will trade Breida. I doubt he will garner anything higher than a fifth-round pick, but it is still value this team should acquire. San Francisco still needs more draft capital that they can potentially package into a deal to get back into Day 2 of the draft.

The only question is: What teams are potential trade destinations for Breida?

Houston Texans

Picking out the Texans as a trade suitor for a player has to be on every team’s radar. Bill O’Brien truly has no idea about the concept of value when it comes to trades. It makes you wonder why the 49ers couldn’t have inquired about DeAndre Hopkins, but I digress. The Texans could be a fit for Breida given that O’Brien loves his running backs.

He practically acquires one every season. I know they just acquired David Johnson from the Cardinals, but this is O’Brien we're talking about. The guy is unpredictable with his trades and hardly makes sense.

Trading for Breida would just be the cherry on top of all his disastrous trades. The 49ers could potentially even swindle him for the Texans’ fourth-round pick at No. 111. It wouldn’t be the first time O’Brien got the runaround.

Carolina Panthers

With the league trending towards a platoon system for running backs, Carolina is still holding onto the traditional ways. And can you blame them? They have the ultimate offensive weapon in Christian McCaffrey, who they just signed to the most expensive deal for a running back in league history.

McCaffrey is not a player the Panthers would want to limit with his snaps, because he is practically the entire offense. However, that heavy usage could take its toll on him. Worst case scenario is that he sustains an injury, which would neuter the Panthers offense. That is why trading for Breida would make sense for this team.

Acquiring him would still allow the offense to stay afloat, and he could even spell McCaffrey at times. Breida is capable of playing in a similar role as McCaffrey since he has the ability to be a receiver out of the backfield. The Panthers just may be willing to part with their fifth-round pick at 152 since they have pick 148 on deck, courtesy of Washington.

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Mixon is the lead player at running back for the Bengals, and a very underrated player at that. However, Mixon has a bit of an injury history. Like McCaffrey, once Mixon goes down the running game will become stagnant. Adding another back to complement him only will enhance the offense and keep him efficient.

There also is the possibility that Mixon will hold out prior to the season should he and the Bengals not agree to a new deal, per Paul Dehner Jr of The Athletic.

All of these factors are exactly why a trade for Breida is sound for the Bengals. Once again, a fifth-round pick is what we are looking at here. The tricky part is the Bengals own the top pick in that round at No. 147. A sixth-round pick might be the best the 49ers can get out of them at No. 180, which can be considered a low-end fifth-rounder at that point.