The San Francisco 49ers‘ passing attack could look much different in 2025 after they sent Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick back in March, signed Demarcus Robinson and drafted Jordan Watkins.
They also may be without Brandon Aiyuk to start the season with the Arizona State product recovering from a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus that he suffered midway through their 2024 campaign.
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With that said, the 49ers should still be exploring every opportunity to improve their roster before training begins in a couple weeks, and wide receiver is one position that they could really use another top option. They also have $45.7 million in cap space (per Over the Cap), so they have plenty of room to take on a big contract if they choose.
Interestingly, Sports Illustrated’s Mike Kadlick identified the 49ers as one of the best landing spots for veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin in a trade.
“After sending wide receiver Deebo Samuel to Washington earlier this offseason, perhaps the 49ers can get some pass-catching help back in a follow-up deal for McLaurin,” Kadlick wrote. “San Francisco enters 2025 with star Brandon Aiyuk returning from ACL surgery and former first-round pick Ricky Pearsall hopeful to make a year-two jump—but could use some additional help for their newly extended quarterback in Brock Purdy.”
McLaurin, 29, played collegiately at Ohio State from 2014-18, winning a national championship in his second year with the Buckeyes and catching 75 passes for 1,251 yards and 19 touchdowns in his 53 games over five years.
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Washington selected McLaurin in the third round (No. 76 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft, and since then, he’s recorded 460 receptions for 6,379 yards and 38 touchdowns despite playing with some mediocre quarterbacks other than Jaylen Daniels in 2024.
It would be a strange move for the 49ers and Commanders to trade their top wideouts in separate deals, but with McLaurin unhappy with his current contract, which is set to void after 2025, they may be more willing to make a move now. With San Francisco holding all of that cap space, they should be more than happy to make the trade and pay one of the most productive wide receivers over the last six seasons.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers picked as top trade destination for Commanders WR Terry McLaurin