It’s clear that the San Francisco 49ers are hoping to have a better pass rush this upcoming 2026 NFL season after recording only 20 team sacks the previous campaign. The Niners will have Mykel Williams and Nick Bosa returning from injury while also drafting Romello Height.
Moreover, San Francisco also traded for Osa Odighizuwa to beef up its interior defensive line. Nonetheless, over the last few days, there’s been reporting linking the 49ers to Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby.
Despite that information coming out, David Lombardi of the SF Standard set the record straight on the speculation and reporting on the Crosby situation.
“Nobody is denying that the 49ers are interested in Maxx Crosby,” Lomardi said in a June 17 video on his YouTube channel. “However, we have known that for months. They’re interested in all these great players and some of them, yes, they will trade for them. See Christian McCaffrey back in 2022.
“There are plenty of different examples. But for outlets to act like something is imminent just because they aren’t getting enough clicks because it is June 17 is absolutely exhausting.”
Furthermore, Lombardi notes that he doesn’t expect the Niners to make a blockbuster trade for Crosby or any player of that caliber until the team sees what it has on its current roster.
“It probably is a team-by-team determination of risk for Maxx Crosby, but it is something that the 49ers would have to consider,” Lombardi added. “I think that’s why it’s something that probably isn’t realistically going to be executable until the season starts and you know exactly, or more precisely, what you’re going to need to make a run.”
49ers Will Want to See What They Have With Its Roster
Given the financial commitment required to acquire Crosby, along with the draft capital needed to complete a trade, Lombardi believes the 49ers should be absolutely certain he is the missing piece before making such a significant investment.
“You still have so many pieces on this 49ers team that need to be evaluated, starting with Mykel Williams, who was really good last year when he was available, and then he tore his ACL,” Lombardi said.
“So you’ve got to see where he’s going to be. You’ve got to see where Bosa’s at coming off the ACL this year. You want your young defensive tackles to blossom around Osa Odighizuwa. It’s all connected along the defensive line.
“Information is a good thing. Information is something that the 49ers want to collect as much as possible before they make any commitments that at this point would cost them over $30 million this year, which, quite frankly might not be in the 49ers’ cost structure if they want to keep this team sustainable with all the rising salaries moving forward.”
Niners Insider Gets Blunt on Alex Highsmith Speculation
Another pass rusher who’s in the trade speculation surrounding the 49ers is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Alex Highsmith. In a June 12 video on his YouTube channel, 49ers reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area Matt Maiocco discussed whether Highsmith would be a serious option for the Niners.
“I don’t necessarily think that this is going to happen,” Maiocco said. “Well, I guess three reasons. The 49ers will trade the draft picks. I wouldn’t think it would take a high draft pick for the 49ers to acquire Alex Highsmith, so I don’t think that’s a big stumbling block. They got Osa Odighizuwa for a third-round pick. I don’t think they’d have to give up that much for Alex Highsmith.
“The other thing is that Highsmith has missed some games recently. I don’t necessarily use the term injury-prone, but he did miss six games in 2024. That was three games with a high ankle sprain and three games with a groin injury. Then last year, he missed some time in training camp with a groin injury as well and also missed three games with a high ankle sprain. He missed four games total. So over the past two seasons, he’s missed 10 games.”
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