The 49ers Trade Market may be Affected by No Preseason Games

Players the 49ers could have traded for more if there were a preseason.

It came to conclusion on Monday that there will be zero preseason games this upcoming season. Here's how this decision affects the 49ers, especially in the trade market.

It isn’t so much about acquiring more players. Unless it is a name like Jamal Adams or any other available big-impact player, it is unlikely the 49ers will try to acquire a player before the season begins. This has more to do with the current 49ers players.

But, who?

As soon as quarterback Nick Mullens stepped onto the field in 2018. The other back up quarterback C.J. Beathard lost his starting role in 2018, along with the second-string duties in 2019. 

Yes, Beathard wasn’t going to bring in a Day 1 or a Day 2 pick in a trade for San Francisco. But, a solid preseason could’ve helped the 49ers ship him off and receive something significant, such as a fifth-round pick. That is equivalent to what the Steelers received in return when they traded backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the Jaguars in 2019 after he lost the backup role to Mason Rudolph.

A fifth-round pick may not sound all that attractive, but that’s the round the 49ers selected All-Pro George Kittle in 2017, plus the 49ers also used a 2020 fifth-round pick as a piece to acquire All Pro left tackle Trent Williams.

Beathard is holding onto a roster spot by a thin string. With no preseason, the 49ers have to decide whether to hold onto Beathard for the final year of his contract or trade him for most likely no more than a seventh-round pick.

Anyone else?

The not-so-much-fan-favorite wide receiver Dante Pettis, or the not-so-much-Kyle-Shanahan-and-Jimmy-Garoppolo favorite, either, for that matter. The 49ers offense has changed, as the quick, smaller wide receivers like Marquise Goodwin and Pettis are no longer a fit. In fact, Goodwin is already in Philadelphia.

The struggles of not being a receiver that can fight off big hits or putt his body in dangerous spots to make a catch is what is holding Pettis back. Pettis isn’t the ideal receiver to send off in a fade route and expect him to run by zone or man coverages.

The 49ers traded up in the second round to select Pettis. Odds are they aren’t getting a second-round pick back for him without a preseason to show flashes that he can still be a starting receiver. 

It’s very likely the 49ers could’ve received a third-round pick, considering Pettis is young with two more seasons under contract. Now, his market probably would settle at a fifth or maybe even a fourth if the 49ers are lucky. At that point, if that’s the market value, the 49ers are better off holding onto Pettis in hopes maybe he can revive some trade value in a possible Deebo-Samuel-less wide receiver core to begin the season.

No preseason games this year was important -- why risk player health and player exposure for a game that doesn’t count? This season is already on thin ice. If games are being played, it should absolutely be the ones that count.

But the 49ers will have to navigate through the negatives by not being able to have their roster-bubble players build trade value through preseason games.