ESPN pitches 49ers trade—but it's not what you think

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch appeared to shift his tone Thursday morning, downplaying the likelihood of a major trade to strengthen his injury-depleted roster. This came after Lynch had previously said the 49ers were having "productive" trade conversations earlier this month.

The 49ers have roster needs, especially after losing defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner to season-ending injuries.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell outlined 13 potential trade scenarios, one of which involved the 49ers. However, the longtime writer has San Francisco as sellers—not buyers.

Barnwell suggested the 49ers could trade safety Jason Pinnock and a 2027 seventh-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick—essentially moving up a single round in the draft.

The scenario makes some sense for both teams. The Bills could use help at safety, while the 49ers' use of Pinnock has diminished. Pinnock, who started the first five games of the season, played zero defensive snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and just two on special teams.

Pinnock's reduced role is tied to Malik Mustapha's return from injury. The 49ers have been integrating Mustapha back into the starting lineup, opting to start Ji'Ayir Brown alongside rookie Marques Sigle while gradually working in Mustapha.

"Safety has been an issue with a lot of competitive teams around the NFL this season," Barnwell wrote. "There just aren't many rosters with serious safety depth that could justify a trade. One of the few exceptions is a team that has injury issues just about everywhere besides safety right now.

"The 49ers started Pinnock in September, but that was always going to be a temporary solution. He fell out of the lineup altogether last week, with the Niners preferring Marques Sigle, Ji'Ayir Brown, and the returning Malik Mustapha at safety to him."

Head coach Kyle Shanahan elaborated on Pinnock's role this week, noting that the team had envisioned him contributing in a hybrid linebacker role against the Buccaneers. The flow of the game, however, prevented that opportunity.

"He (Pinnock) was the starting safety for the first five weeks," Shanahan explained. "We thought Ji'Ayir Brown had been earning some time at safety, and we knew with Mustapha coming back, we were going to start rotating and getting Mustapha in there so he could eventually take that over.

"We know Mustapha is going to be one of the starters out there. It was nothing against Jason. We just knew we had to make a decision to rotate one of those guys with Mustapha, and we went with rotating Mustapha and Sigle, which gave really that week to give Tig (Brown) his opportunity to play a whole game at safety."