After getting their deal in at the last minute ahead of Tuesday's 4 p.m. eastern NFL trade deadline to secure Khalil Davis from the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, the San Francisco 49ers waived linebacker Jalen Graham, per SF Standard's David Lombardi.
A 2023 seventh-round selection, Graham spent all of his rookie season with the 49ers but was released as a part of final roster cuts ahead of 2024. After briefly being with the Washington Commanders practice squad, he was re-added to the 49ers active roster in October.
49ers walking a fine tightrope in title pursuit
Most would agree that the 49ers have one of the best rosters in the NFL. While the team is underachieving, the playoffs are still well within the range of potential outcomes. But for a team that will soon have its salary cap tested in new ways as Brock Purdy's big contract extension looms over the franchise, could the 49ers really afford to swing big via trades? It appears the answer is no as San Francisco opted for a depth addition rather than targeting a big-time starter.
Given the team's recent history of finding gems in the NFL draft, their draft history isn't spotless. For every winning lottery ticket like Purdy, San Francisco missed big when trading up for Trey Lance.
In the immediate short-term, perhaps what this team needs most is its best player back in the mix. Running back Christian McCaffrey returned to practice ahead of the 49ers' Week 10 road trip to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although even with McCaffrey available again, that doesn't mean he will be earning bell-cow touches as the offense's focal point right away, as outlined by general manager John Lynch.
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“The ideal scenario versus Tampa Bay is that he continues to—we keep using this terminology—but ramp up, which just means increase the volume of work that he's doing,” Lynch said. “He's been doing that, and he hasn't had any setbacks. The hope is we take it up another notch this week. Provided that goes well, we're kind of opening that window, allowing him to go back to practice. IR players can work to the side. They can't get involved in practice. And so, Christian has been kind of on that plan.”
“Now, just opening his window doesn't mean he has to play. We have three weeks then, in which we can activate him, so we'll play this by ear,” he said. “We'll listen to Christian, we'll listen to the experts, and hopefully, very soon, he's back playing with us on the field. And then, we've got to be judicious about how much we use him, and that's a hard thing to do because he's so darn good.”
After San Francisco's Week 10 game against Tampa Bay, the team has a difficult stretch ahead, with games against the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills on tap.
