The 49ers will be active over the next four or five days. That much is certain.
The NFL draft begins Thursday and continues through Saturday, followed by the annual scramble to sign undrafted prospects. Through it all is the possibility for trades.
While the Niners have been linked to a number of possible trades before and during the draft – with reports that general manager John Lynch is fielding calls about trading both his first-round selections – there’s only one player on the roster Lynch has acknowledged shopping.
That’s wide receiver Marquise Goodwin, who’s had an up-and-down three seasons with San Francisco. In 2017, Goodwin was electric, a genuine deep-ball threat who caught 56 passes for 962 yards (a 17.2-yard average) and two touchdowns.
But over the past two years, injuries have cost Goodwin 12 games and he’s caught just 35 passes combined in 2018-19. The 49ers love Goodwin as a person and player, but the former Olympian now doesn’t figure into the team’s long-term plans – especially considering he’s due almost $4 million in 2020 and $5.3 million in 2021.
It seems likely the 49ers will trade Goodwin at some point during the draft for another selection or two.
“One thing I feel comfortable saying is that the one guy where there’s actively discussions going on right now is Marquise Goodwin,” Lynch said on a conference call with reports this week. “That’s something we’ve been clear on. There’s also a scenario where Marquise can help us. He brings a lot to the table. We have been in discussions. It came close a couple of times.
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“There’s a lot of different aspects to being able to close these deals and he’s a guy – because we know he has value – we continue to hang on and we’ll see if something happens here as we approach (the draft).”
