Chase Young, a defensive end, wasn’t the 49ers’ first target at the trade deadline. A few weeks prior to it, Commanders General Manager Martin Mayhew and General Manager John Lynch discussed Young. With two straight losses, Washington’s season was on the verge of collapse, and their formidable defensive line was wide open for business.
Lynch stated that Mayhew included DE Montez Sweat in the mix even though the 49ers were concentrating on Young. San Francisco showed no enthusiasm.
In a conference call, Lynch stated, “Early on in the game, it’s not in the game, in mine and Martin’s conversations, it was just Chase.” “Hey, listen, for the right price, Sweat could probably be had too,” Martin remarked at one time. Thus, that’s approximately where it
It makes sense that the 49ers wouldn’t have kicked tires on Sweat given what he wound up fetching in the trade market. Lynch’s theme of his conference call was that San Francisco wanted to improve its roster without handicapping its future draft capital. Young was had for a compensatory third-round pick, leaving the 49ers with a pair of Round 3 choices. Sweat went to the Bears for a second-round choice. Had San Francisco handed out its own second-round pick it would’ve left them with nothing between the first round and the end of the third round.
Sweat is a good player who certainly could’ve helped the 49ers. He’s been healthier and more consistent than Young in his career, but San Francisco instead bet on the less costly option with plenty of upside.
