The 49ers have a need for defensive line help, and it just so happens there are two players on the Titans who could be targeted by the trade deadline.
During his last media appearance, general manager John Lynch said there was "nothing imminent" when it came to the San Francisco 49ers' plans leading up to the NFL trade deadline.
However, Lynch left the door open for a last-second move.
The Niners have used the deadline to great effect before. In 2017, they grabbed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots. Two years later amid a Super Bowl run, San Francisco acquired wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from the Denver Broncos, and in 2022, it landed running back Christian McCaffrey in a blockbuster deal with the Carolina Panthers.
There have been plenty of under-the-radar moves, too, including the 2021 move for reserve defensive lineman Charles Omenihu.
The latter kind of deadline deal might be what Lynch is looking to pull off this year, especially one that takes some of the pressure off the 49ers' depleted defensive line.
And it just so happens there are a couple of targets, currently on the Tennessee Titans, whom Lynch can go after.
49ers may target 2 Titans defensive linemen at NFL trade deadline
At 1-6, Tennessee is still wrapped in the growing pains of a long rebuild under first-year head coach Brian Callahan and is in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
There's hope, though, provided the Titans receive the excellent front-office work performed by a Lynch protégé, general manager Ran Carthon, who served on the Niners staff from 2017 through 2022.
Lynch and Carthon are close, so it's fair to look at these two teams as potential trade partners between now and the deadline.
Two players who come to mind? Defensive linemen Sebastian Joseph-Day and Arden Key.
Both previously played for San Francisco, Joseph-Day on the 2023 NFC championship squad, and Key back in 2021 when he had a career-best 6.5 sacks.
Tim Kawakami, formerly of The Athletic and now at SF Standard, also speculated about both Tennessee players potentially being on the 49ers' radar:
"A solid 29-year-old player who had a brief stint with the 49ers last season. He was signed near the end of the regular season and played in all three playoff games, including the Super Bowl, and he is in a similar situation on this terrible Tennessee team as …
Arden Key.
I wouldn’t rule out the 49ers trying to acquire both Joseph-Day and Key for DL depth. Of course, Key is fondly remembered in the 49ers’ building for his 2021 contributions, which included 6.5 sacks playing multiple positions on the line."
The Niners need help on both the outside and inside of the D-line, particularly after losing defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a potentially season-ending triceps tear and not having edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) yet in the regular season.
Instead, the outside pass rush has relied heavily upon defensive ends Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd and Sam Okuayinou, the latter being a hidden-gem offseason find. Meanwhile, the inside has pressed defensive tackles like Kevin Givens and Evan Anderson into more prominent roles alongside Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott.
Neither Key nor Sebastian-Day would cost too much of anything in the trade market, perhaps a late-round pick and nothing more for each.
And if either move, or both of them, prove to be a small-but-substantial effort to improve this banged-up unit, Lynch would happily pull the trigger.
The 2024 NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
