Why 49ers GM John Lynch feels no sense of urgency to trade for a WR

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The San Francisco 49ers suffered a significant blow with the season-ending loss of their star wide receiver Brandon Aiyukwho suffered torn ACL and MCL injuries against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. To add to the challenge, Juan Jennings was sidelined for that game with a hip injury and is not expected to play this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.

“I expect to get him back after the bye week,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday. “I haven’t ruled him out for this week yet, but I would definitely say he’s questionable. But I’d be surprised if he doesn’t come back after the bye week.”

Deebo Samuelanother important offensive weapon, is also not at full strength. The versatile playmaker was hospitalized this week with pneumonia, leaving the 49ers’ receiving corps even thinner. These setbacks have many wondering if general manager John Lynch could look for a trade to strengthen the position. However, Lynch isn’t immediately feeling the pressure to take action in response to the current injuries.

“The ideal situation was to have all these guys playing together (with Aiyuk before his injury),” Lynch said Friday morning on Bay Area radio station KNBR. “But (WR) Ricky (Pearl) came back, and Ricky had, I think, a good debut. I think as the game went on he was fun to watch, and we all know what he went through.

“We have seen it (WR Jacob) Cows make some contributions. (WR) Chris Conley is just a very reliable, trusted man.”

Lynch admitted he was surprised by Samuel’s health problems. The recipient took only four photos before leaving due to breathing difficulties caused by the disease.

“Right before the game, someone came up to me and said, ‘Where’s Deebo?’ And I said, ‘Wow, I wasn’t told anything.’ And next thing you know, a trainer comes running out and says, “Hey, he’s having trouble breathing.” And we all know what became of that.

“So on Sunday it didn’t look great, but Jauan is a little bit questionable again this week because of his (injury). And so this week it won’t be ideal, but we think with Jauan, Deebo, Ricky, Jake, Chris, who group, Ronnie Bellwe have enough there, and we’ll see.

“We’ve always – I think our track record has shown that we’re always going to go to field visits. We’re always going to call, see what’s there, and if we can improve our team, we will. But I like this group.”

Shanahan was non-committal when asked if Aiyuk’s injury could prompt the 49ers to explore a trade for a veteran wide receiver.

“I wouldn’t say that specifically,” Shanahan replied. “I mean, we look at every situation to see if it can help us in every position. It’s a lot harder to do than people realize. People don’t like giving up players who can really help you.”

“If they can really help you, and for some reason are in a situation (where they want) to give him up, it will rarely not hurt you at some point, most likely the next year and into the future .”

The 49ers currently have 10 players on injured reserve, with Aiyuk being the most recent addition. Unlike Aiyuk, some are expected to return later this season, which Lynch believes could give the team the boost needed for another playoff run.

“When I look at our trade deadline, I look at our IR list and I say: (RB Christian) McCaffrey, (LB Dre) Greenlaw, (DE Yetur) Gross-Matos, (S Talanoa) HufangaIf we can get those guys back, I think that’s the boost we need as much as anyone we’re going to bring in from outside,” Lynch explained.

“So we have a good group of players and hopefully we can get some of these guys back while staying healthy. And the most important thing this week is to find a way to beat the Cowboys.”