49ers insider thinks team could trade breakout starting LB

The San Francisco 49ers have a pretty robust linebacker unit at the moment.

The team currently has nine linebackers on the roster, with star Fred Warner returning from a season-ending injury. The rest of the room is rounded out by Dre Greenlaw following his one-year stint with the Denver Broncos, Tatum Bethune, Dee Winters, Luke Gifford, Nick Martin, Garret Wallow, Curtis Robinson and Jalen Graham.

More than likely, the 49ers won't keep all nine on their 53-man roster. But there are five linebackers with starting experience in the group, so who will be the odd man, or men, out?

NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco surmises that the 49ers could move one of their backups before or during the draft to pick up some extra capital. While Warner and Greenlaw are likely safe and Bethune is only in his third season, Maiocco thinks Winters could be a nice trade chip for San Francisco to pick up a Day 3 pick.

"They could get a nice sum for Winters, although he is entering the final year of his contract," Maiocco said. "So he would probably be the most likely guy for the 49ers to trade. He is scheduled to make $3.67 million. So the 49ers could get rid of that salary and pick up, you know, a Day 3 draft pick."

This is all speculation, but the deluge of linebackers and the 49ers' lack of draft picks after the fourth round creates an interesting scenario for the team. However, as the 49ers learned in 2025, it's better to have more linebackers than fewer if injuries hit a room hard.

"So, do they dare even dangle Dee Winters for a trade knowing that, if something were to happen to Greenlaw, they would need him?" Maiocco added. "Or do they feel good enough that, hey, Nick Martin is a player who is signed through the 2028 season. Do they roll with him as the backup?"

These are the questions general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan will be asking themselves as the draft draws nearer. The 49ers have had success with late-round linebackers, though, so perhaps sending Winters, a former sixth-rounder himself, for another pick isn't such a bad idea after all.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL trade rumors: 49ers insider suggests trading Dee Winters