Not only did the San Francisco 49ers lose to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, they also lost a key piece of their team when Brandon Aiyuk went down with a torn ACL. The second-team All-Pro is out for the rest of the season, which places more stress on players like Christian McCaffrey (once he returns), Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle to make plays.
The 49ers also have rookie first-round pick Ricky Pearsall, who just made his season debut in Week 7. He’ll likely see an increased amount of targets, but do the 49ers have enough depth after Aiyuk’s injury?
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San Francisco 49ers could target trade for Kendrick Bourne
If the San Francisco 49ers want to add help from outside the organization, they have many options. Yet, considering they’re already heavily committed to their core, any additions likely would have to be fairly insignificant, so the 49ers aren’t forced to part with precious draft capital.
If so, as Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer suggests, the 49ers could look to reunite with Kendrick Bourne.
“The loss of Brandon Aiyuk certainly brings the progress of first-round pick Ricky Pearsall into focus for the San Francisco 49ers. But there might be some help out there for them. When the Niners discussed an Aiyuk trade with the New England Patriots during the summer, Kendrick Bourne, whom New England poached from San Francisco in free agency in 2021, was brought up, and San Francisco showed real interest in bringing him back. It’ll be interesting to see if the Niners circle back with the Patriots on him.”
Now on the New England Patriots, the former 49ers receiver is buried on a depth chart that has no clear top target. Yet, he’s likely not part of the future for a rebuilding team that likely will look to add more young receivers this offseason.
Trading for Bourne wouldn’t cost the 49ers anything more than a late-round pick, and his acclimation process could be much smoother, thanks to having previous experience playing in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Bourne is 29, and he only has four receptions for 29 yards this season, but he’s only played 87 snaps. If he were traded to San Francisco, Bourne’s opportunities would certainly increase.
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