San Francisco 49ers for Joe Staley and a second-round pick
Hear us out for a second. This seems absolutely absurd on the surface. Why would Seattle trade Sherman to a division rival? Why would a rebuilding 49ers team yield a bounty for a 29-year-old corner? There’s a few different things we must focus on here.
One, San Francisco is in desperate need of help on defense. Here’s a unit that yielded a 96.9 quarterback rating to go with 30 passing touchdowns a season ago. Secondly, Sherman would fit right into the team’s defense, which is led by new coordinator Robert Saleh — a man that was an assistant coach in Seattle up until four seasons ago. Finally, Sherman played college ball at Stanford and has been seen frequenting the Bay Area in recent years. If not the Raiders, San Francisco could make some sense for him from a personal standpoint.
In order for this deal to work, it would have to take place during the draft. San Francisco is not yielding a Pro Bowl left tackle and the second pick in the second round for a 29-year-old cornerback. That’s just not happening.
Instead, new general manager John Lynch and Co. would have to move up and down the board to acquire extra picks in order for this trade to work. Considering the 49ers are looking to do just that, it isn’t too far-fetched.
From Seattle’s standpoint, this makes too much sense. Joe Staley has been among the most-consistent left tackles in the NFL over the past decade — earning five Pro Bowl appearances over the past six seasons. While Staley is 32 and has a ton of tread on his tires, he could act as a significant upgrade for Seattle over the next few seasons. That much isn’t even up for debate.