Maxx Crosby? Myles Garrett? Why the 49ers may go shopping for a dominant defensive end

The 49ers could conduct a safe and structurally solid string of offseason moves in the next months, and nobody should or would complain. In a lot of ways, that’s what John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have already started.

They’ve brought back defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, reorganized a chunk of the coaching staff, essentially moved on from Deebo Samuel, started contract talks with Brock Purdy, heard definitively that Trent Williams will be back for the 2025 season, and are hip-deep into deciding what to do with the 11th pick overall and the rest of their large draft allotment this April.

Nothing illogical. All pretty much mandatory, especially because, as Lynch explained to reporters Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, the 49ers are in the mood to cut back on cash spending after the lavish outlays in past seasons. Reminder: This isn’t necessarily about fitting under the $279.2 million salary cap this season. The 49ers have plenty of cap space. This is about what the 49ers have spent in the last few years — including on restructures and bonuses to squeeze down cap numbers — which, Lynch said, has been at or near the top of the league, and it’s time for “some tighter constraints.”

The new prudence has been a topic inside 49ers HQ for several months, and Lynch just put words to it. But I don’t think this means the 49ers are done spending for talent altogether. I don’t think they’re out of the free-agent and trade markets.

For instance, what if some bigger, bolder opportunities present themselves in the next few weeks, as teams sort through payroll decisions and the March 13 movement period beckons? Will Shanahan, Lynch, Jed York, and the rest of the 49ers’ decision-makers be able to resist trying to make a dramatic move like those they made to acquire Williams, Christian McCaffrey, and Emmanuel Sanders?

Or, to put it in a more surreptitious way: All this activity to cut down on the 49ers’ 2025 cash flow — including the $15.4 million option bonus they will not pay Deebo — gives them more flexibility to increase the payroll if the right player comes along and they decide to go for it one more time.

Yes, the 49ers will have to allot a pile of money to Purdy’s new deal. But big bonuses amortize on the cap through the life of the contract and limit the early cap hits. The 49ers don’t want to throw too much money at free-agent veterans who might end up as rapidly decreasing values, the way the Javon Hargrave signing two years ago fell apart at the end. But the 49ers also have hit on some key signings in the recent past, and I imagine they feel confident that they can do it again.

With some amount of pressure building in 49ers land going into their ninth season in charge, Shanahan and Lynch might be tempted to try to add at least one more star before Purdy’s cap hits start to skyrocket in 2027 and beyond. They won’t be reckless — York and Paraag Marathe have made that clear, and Shanahan and Lynch likely agree. But the 49ers shouldn’t avoid being opportunistic, either.

Especially right now, when the most interesting available players are likely going to be defensive linemen, which happens to be the 49ers’ most pressing positional need this offseason.

One more note: I’ve heard from a few NFL sources that the 49ers have been mentioned as a popular potential destination for at least a few top defensive linemen who have quietly started looking around should they get waived for salary savings or hit the trade market.

The 49ers’ decision will almost certainly be predicated by how they view the crop of top defensive and offensive linemen likely to be there for them at the 11th pick. If they think they can get a potential Pro Bowler on either side of the line, the 49ers might not be too involved in chasing a veteran starter.

But defensive end Abdul Carter, defensive tackle Mason Graham, and offensive tackle Will Campbell might be the only slam-dunk choices at those positions in this class, and I don’t think any of them will make it to 11. If the 49ers make the same calculations, they would be likelier to look for upgrades on the trade — possibly offering No. 11 — or free-agent markets.

The Chargers’ Joey Bosa is the most obvious candidate and likely wouldn’t need to be acquired via trade because he might be a salary-cap casualty. It is easy to imagine him lining up opposite his brother, Nick, and the 49ers might be able to land him without much of a bidding war given Joey’s injury issues the past few years.

But I’m not sure how high the 49ers would go for a 29-year-old who has played only 24 regular-season games the last three seasons. They cut Arik Armstead last offseason after he refused to take a big pay cut following an injury-plagued season. And Hargrave, who was signed at about the same age Joey Bosa is now, hit a swift performance drop as his body seemed to wear down. This would be a similar reason for the 49ers not to go after 30-year-old Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who has been given permission to seek a trade.

Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, probably the best defensive lineman in the league, has also requested a trade, but the Browns have repeatedly said they’re not moving him. That could change, but Garrett would cost a lot more than the 49ers’ 11th pick, and then the 49ers would have to pay him, too. I’m sure the 49ers have daydreamed about a Garrett–Nick Bosa team-up, but I’m not sure how they could do this.

Three more names: What if the Bengals’ salary crunch forces them to look into trading defensive end Trey Hendrickson? A cheaper option: The 49ers went hard after Khalil Mack before the Raiders traded him to Chicago in 2018; they might be able to get him a lot less expensively now. Or, on a similar theme — if Mark Davis would even consider sending one of his stars to the 49ers this time around — what if Maxx Crosby wants out of Las Vegas?

Crosby, at 27, is several years younger than every other name mentioned here and is under contract for this year and next. Though, as with most big-name trades, he’d likely expect an extension and raise when and if he lands with a new team, and he’d deserve it.

Crosby would be the ideal target for the 49ers, who are short of prime defensive stars. Right now, it’s only Bosa, Fred Warner, and Deommodore Lenoir. But that also means Crosby is that much more valuable to the Raiders, and to anybody else who might try to trade for him.

The 49ers need to monitor the market, though. They will be prudent. They will prioritize Purdy’s contract and the draft. They have other positional needs. But if the trade market really heats up and there’s a star DE who signals that he’d like to end up with the 49ers, they can’t sit it out. And, at some point, if they want to win the Super Bowl in February, to hell with the new financial constraints.