The San Francisco 49ers are coming off their first loss of the NFL season last Sunday, when they fell 29-20 to the Atlanta Falcons to move to 6-1 overall.
Now, as they're in the middle of their bye week, 49ers general manager John Lynch has been active on the trade front.
San Francisco agreed to a blockbuster deal on Tuesday evening, acquiring three-time Pro Bowl interior pass rusher DeForest Buckner from the Indianapolis Colts for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Buckner is on an expiring deal and actually began his career with the 49ers after they drafted him seventh overall out of Oregon in 2016. He spent four seasons in San Francisco before the team traded him to the Colts for a first-round pick. He's remained in Indianapolis for the last six and a half seasons.
Reacting to the trade was Hall of Fame quarterback and 49ers legend Steve Young, who appeared on KNBR's Murph & Markus show on Wednesday afternoon.
"If everybody's healthy, we could have a top-five defensive front," Young said . "We could be that team that's just kind of a nemesis for folks because we're bringing four and smashing quarterbacks. So, like, I can see that potential, and we're gonna need it. We're gonna need to be that team that's fully healthy and developed throughout the season into this killer machine, and that's why yesterday was pretty important … let's say that didn't happen, and all of a sudden Seattle got better, and they both looked really good last weekend … and so I thought it was important."
While Young noted the importance of staying healthy, that's truly the biggest concern for the 49ers right now.
Their pass rush goes as star EDGE rusher Nick Bosa goes, and Bosa has struggled to stay on the field. When he's out, the pass rush takes a hit.
Adding Buckner, a proven veteran with 75.5 career sacks and four sacks this year alone, will certainly help. But the goal is to have both Bosa and Buckner up front together with several of San Francisco's other prominent defensive players.
If they can get that and stay relatively healthy, they're capable of winning a Super Bowl. If the injury bug continues to bite throughout the season, though, it's going to be an uphill climb for head coach Kyle Shanahan's club.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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