Why the 49ers did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline

Yikes.

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What a joke.

The 49ers are sitting at 6-3. Only three teams in the NFL have more wins than them. There is no clear-cut favorite for the Super Bowl this season. The league is relentlessly mediocre. And yet, the 49ers chose to do absolutely nothing at the trade deadline.

How weak.

I understand the 49ers' thought process. The front office doesn't think the team can win the Super Bowl without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, both of whom are out for the season. And maybe the front office is right about that, although it's impossible to predict which team will win the Super Bowl this season. The 49ers have as good a chance as any team.

No one expected the 49ers to be 6-3 right now, particularly without Bosa, Warner, Ricky Pearsall, George Kittle for more than a month and Brock Purdy. In fact, the front office always expected to have a down season this year. That's why general manager John Lynch said in February that the 49ers would have to take their lumps this season.

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That's when Lynch was trying to explain letting nine starters leave in free agency. He said the team needed to get younger and more cost-effective through the draft. Then, he wasted a first-round pick on Mykel Williams, a run-stopping specialist with high character who can't rush the quarterback to save his life. He's the second coming of Solomon Thomas, another brilliant first-round pick made by Lynch.

In spite of Lynch's terrible free agency and mediocre draft, the 49ers' coaches and players found a way to win six of their first nine games. And instead of rewarding them and giving them a vote of confidence, the front office did nothing and sent the following message: The season is doomed. Our record is meaningless. Your effort has been for nothing.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks, who also have six wins and actually lost to the 49ers, traded for starting wide receiver Rasheed Shahid. Their front office believes in their coaches and players.

Even the freaking Cowboys, whose record is 3-5-1, traded a 2027 first-rounder, a 2026 second-rounder and Mazi Smith to the Jets for Quinnen Williams, one of the best defensive tackles in football.

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Why didn't the 49ers trade for Williams? So they could keep their draft picks and take the next Mykel Williams or Javon Kinlaw next year? They'd be lucky to draft someone as good as Williams. And they could have afforded him.

My heart goes out to the players and coaches on the 49ers. You deserved better.