The San Francisco 49ers need to add to the linebacker position ahead of the trade deadline after Fred Warner's season-ending injury. One analyst has proposed a trade with the New Orleans Saints that won't cost much in draft capital.
49ers-Saints trade proposal adds starting LB for San Fran after Fred Warner injury originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Just a few weeks after losing Nick Bosa to a season-ending injury, the San Francisco 49ers are now down their best linebacker after Fred Warner suffered a significant injury in Week 6 that will knock him out for the rest of the season.
The 49ers find themselves in a tough spot at 4-2. San Fran clearly needs significant additions at both positions to help its playoff chances, but this was also supposed to be a transitional year, so the team might be hesitant to give up high-value picks.
A trade proposal from Caleb Yaccarino of Canal Street Chronicles strikes a nice balance, at least when it comes to a linebacker trade.
Yaccarino proposes a deal that sends a 2026 fifth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for linebacker Pete Werner. Here's his explanation for why the Saints might be willing to move their starting linebacker.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Saints selected linebacker Danny Stutsman in the 4th round. Throughout the offseason/preseason, Stutsman made plays and seemed to have developed a bit in pass coverage. These are all the signs a coaching staff wants to see from their young player, and Kellen Moore did something very interesting in the past game against the Patriots. For a bit, Pete Werner was subbed out of the game for Danny Stutsman/Isaiah Stalbird. Many, including myself, thought it was an injury, but Werner was not being checked out by doctors on the sideline, and later in the press conference, Kellen Moore confirmed that this was a move to get Stutsman more playing time. Doing this in a game with the score close is notable, and it can hint that the team could be moving on from Werner soon.
Another reason the Saints could trade Werner has to do with the fact that the team is 1-5 and going nowhere. If Werner isn't in the Saints' long-term plans, they should definitely move him.
Werner isn't elite by any means, but he has shown flashes of being an adequate coverage linebacker and run defender. At the very least, he's a capable starter.
There is no filling Warner's shoes, but Werner does offer a decent replacement and he won't take a chunk out of San Fran's draft capital. The Niners only have one fifth-rounder in 2026, but are projected to have four fourth-round picks.
When you talk about realistic trade targets for the Niners to address their need at linebacker without giving up a huge sum of draft capital, Werner fits the bill.
Not to mention, he's under contract through 2027, so that makes it easier to give up a draft pick to acquire his services.
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