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After watching the Philadelphia Eagles dominate the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59, every General Manager, Head Coach, coordinator and fan is obsessed with the trenches. In Santa Clara this isn’t new. Fans have been screaming ever since Dee Ford was slowed by injuries, get Nick Bosa some help!
With all the rumors flying about who could help Bosa see fewer double teams, triple teams chip blocks and everything else to slow him down, here are my odds on who could be coming and who isn’t, in order of who is least and most likely to be wearing 49ers red and gold in 2025:
MAXX CROSBY: Mad Maxx and chill Bosa might be opposites off the field but on the field, this would be the best pair of defensive bookends in the NFL. Only one problem, that Davis guy who owns the Raiders hates the 49ers. Mark Davis had a chance to send then disgruntled edge rusher extraordinaire Khalil Mack to the 49ers when the Oakland Raiders couldn’t meet his yearly price tag of $20 million in 2018. Rather than take the best deal, which was from San Francisco, he shipped Mack to the Bears for a lesser one. Dutch Boy would rather not help the 49ers than help his own. Those feelings haven’t changed with a move across the boarder to the silver state.
ODDS: 500/1 – Maxx may have thrown some love at the Bay over NBA All-Star weekend when he was here, that doesn’t mean he’s taking up residence here again.
TREY HENDRICKSON: Easily the most underrated sack artist in the NFL, Hendrickson has 70.5 quarterback take downs the last five seasons. Only TJ Watt (73.5) and Myles Garrett (72), have more. A 3rd round pick out of Florida Atlantic by the Saints in 2017, Its taken him a while to get the credit he deserves. His motor is relentless at 6’4 270 and when he doesn’t finish, he’s always close and around the ball. He has one more year left on his deal in Cincinnati with a $18.6M cap hit, but only $3M is guaranteed, leading some to speculate whether he could get moved this offseason. The Bengals started slow and almost made the playoffs down the stretch, logic says they wouldn’t trade their best defender and he doesn’t look to be slowing down at age 31.
ODDS: 40/1 – No more money left on his deal, if he demands out, 49ers would be in. Cheaper than going after Garrett and almost as disruptive.
KHALIL MACK: On the upside, Khalil Mack is a pure free agent in 2025. No trade, just money. The flip side is the 49ers tried to acquire 27 year-old Mack in 2018 when the arrow was pointing up. Now at 34, Mack is still good against both the pass and run, but how much money does he want in what will likely be his final NFL deal? In 2023 Mack amassed 17 sacks. Before that he hadn’t reached double digit throw downs since 2018, his first year with the Bears. He has always been a terror vs. the run and would be a great edge setter who could move inside on passing downs with Leonard Floyd taking the outside. The 49ers don’t need another aging player with a high injury risk factor. Having said that, Mack has played in every game five of the last six seasons. It would all depend on how much he would want as the final payday of his Hall of Fame career.
ODDS: 20/1 – Still really good, but at 34 another player going the wrong way.
JOEY BOSA: Mama Bosa Cheryl responded to a photo shopped post of Nick and Joey in 49ers gear together and it sent the faithful into a frenzy. At one point the thought of the Bosa boys chasing quarterbacks on the same defensive line would sent offenses into shock. Mostly due to injury, the 29-year old hasn’t had a double digit sack year since 2021 and various injuries have limited him to 28 of a possible 51 games the last three seasons, he has 14 sacks in that period. Joey Bosa took a pay cut last offseason to stay with the Chargers and insiders speculate he’ll be released soon because he has no more guaranteed money on his current deal. If Joey is willing to take less to come to San Francisco, the 49ers would listen, but it seems there would be a decent market and a more desperate team willing to roll the dice on his injury history.
ODDS: 10/1 – The Bosa connection is there, but 49ers don’t like injury risk and Joey will find a team who will pay more and can stomach the risk.
MYLES GARRETT: There was a story out today the Browns were trying to make one last ditch effort to keep Garrett with a rumored big contract extension. While that perks up everybody’s ears no matter if they demanded out or not, which Garrett did, the former #1 overall pick has made it clear, he wants the money and the winning. The Browns don’t win. Garrett is currently the fifth highest paid edge rusher and that won’t get it done with a new team. It’s going to be tricky. The 2023 NFL defensive player of the year is signed though 2026, but he has no more guaranteed money left. Players hate that. That’s why 49ers all everything left tackle Trent Williams held out in 2024. He had a deal, the deal had no more money on it. Garrett wants to win and get paid. The list is short and he and the Browns will have to work together to mesh the compensation with the team who will pay. The Lions, Commanders, Bills and Chiefs fit the mold. The 49ers do if they can convince Garrett 2024 was a one off. The Eagles would just be showing off. Yes, he’s worth the 49ers #11 overall pick in the first round and it’s unlikely another contending team could offer more. Does Garrett believe the 49ers will satisfy his craving to win?
ODDS: 5/1 – The 49ers are always aggressive and still believe they are in a title window. With the increase in cap space, they could get Brock and everything else done this offseason and still find space for a Garrett deal. He may not choose them, but the 49ers should do everything they can to convince the future Hall of Fame player to head West.