The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2026 season with plenty to prove when it comes to their pass rush. After finishing with just 20 sacks last year, the defense is counting on the returns of Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams, both of whom missed significant time due to season-ending injuries.
San Francisco also added Romello Height in the 2026 NFL Draft, giving the front seven another young edge rusher. With Bosa and Williams back on the field and Height joining the mix, San Francisco hopes to generate far more sacks than it did a season ago.
As a result, there’s speculation about whether the Niners would make a blockbuster trade to bolster their pass rush between now and the NFL trade deadline later this year.
One of the names that emerges in speculation is the Las Vegas Raiders‘ Maxx Crosby. While that would be a blockbuster move, 49ers reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, Jennifer Lee Chan, doesn’t see Crosby ending up with the Niners right now.
“I don’t think the 49ers were ever in the mix to trade for Maxx Crosby at any point just because he’s so expensive,” Lee Chan said in a June 12 video on her YouTube channel. “He’d cost a lot of money… [Albert Breer] was saying that if the Niners are interested in him, they should definitely wait to see how it all plays out.
“And I totally understand what he’s saying. If the Raiders are 1-6 and the Niners are 6-1 by Week 7, right before the trade deadline, then maybe there’s some sort of deal they can work out. But right now, I just don’t think there’s any way that the 49ers could make a move for Maxx Crosby.”
Could the Niners Pursue a Veteran Free Agent Instead?
Moreover, Lee Chan believes the Niners are more inclined to sign a veteran free agent like Joey Bosa than to make a blockbuster trade for a player like Maxx Crosby, a move the Los Angeles Rams made when trading for Myles Garrett.
“Maxx Crosby, of course, could clearly play on the opposite side of Nick Bosa,” Lee Chan added. “I just don’t think they do it now. It’s just too rich for their blood. I think there’s more potential that they get Joey Bosa than they get Max Crosby.
“Joey Bosa is one of a couple of guys who are free agents out there. He might be a player they think about, but Nick Bosa said Joey is more worried about his golf game than playing football at this point.”
49ers Insider Speculates on Joey Bosa’s Future
With his younger brother Nick on the team, it would be an amazing storyline to have the two as teammates. However, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco speculates whether the older Bosa wants to play in 2026.
“I still don’t think [the 49ers signing Bosa] is going to happen anytime soon,” Maiocco said in a June 12 video on his YouTube channel. “In fact, I really don’t think it’s going to happen, period.
“Just the way Nick talked about Joey and how he’s more interested in concentrating on his golf game at this point than he is on playing football, it kind of leads me to believe that an NFL veteran who has made so much money playing this sport, if in late May or early June his mind is more on golf than football, there’s a really good chance that he ends up retiring.
“Of course, if a team comes along with a contract offer that blows the socks off, I’m sure he’ll play. But it certainly sounded to me as if there is a chance, a real chance, that Joey Bosa will retire.”
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