SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ latest in-season trade pales in comparison to acquiring Jimmy Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders in recent years but they made a deal Wednesday to aid their crippled pass rush.
Jordan Willis, a third-year edge rusher, is joining the Niners from the NFL’s worst team, the New York Jets, a league source confirmed.
Willis’ trade, because of ongoing COVID-19 protocol and a physical exam, will not be official until next week, so he is unavailable for when the 49ers (3-3) next play Sunday at the New England Patriots (2-3).
The cost is not prohibitive to a 49ers team intent on producing a bigger draft class next year than this year’s five-man pack, as head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed Monday. The 49ers will part with a 2022 sixth-round draft pick in return for Willis and a 2021 seventh-round pick, NFL Network reported.
One look at the current defensive line and it’s clear why Willis is needed. Better yet, check the injury report, as the 49ers have lost several defensive linemen for the season: Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas and Ziggy Ansah. Also, neither Dee Ford (back) nor Ronald Blair (knee) are expected to be available before the Week 11 bye, so they’re out another month.
Willis has three career sacks in 43 games. He played his first two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals as a 2017 third-round pick out of Kansas State. Upon joining the Jets in 2019, he appeared in nine games last season, but only two this year for the winless club, and he was inactive for the 49ers’ Week 2 rout over the host Jets.
The 49ers’ defense went without a sack for the first time this season on Sunday night, when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-16 while Jared Goff completed just 50 percent of his passes.
Arik Armstead and Kerry Hyder have served as the 49ers’ starting ends. In relief have been Dion Jordan, Kentavius Street, Kevin Givens and Alex Barrett.
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Top 49ers trades under Shanahan/Lynch since 2017:
1. Jimmy Garoppolo, from Pats (2017). A second-round pick scored them a NFC-winning QB.
2. Emmanuel Sanders, from Broncos (2019). His veteran presence and play-making ability arrived last October in time for a last-season push to the Super Bowl.
3. Trent Williams, from Wash (2020). Joe Staley’s retirement prompted the 49ers to secure his successor, and it cost a 2020 fifth-rounder and 2021 third-round pick for this one-year audition.
4. DeForest Buckner, to Colts (2020). This could backfire if the defensive front falls apart amid injuries, but getting a first-round draft pick in return was vital, and the 49ers can only hope Javon Kinlaw continues his upward trend.
5. Dee Ford, from Chiefs (2019). Injury after injury is not making this deal worthwhile, although the 49ers will insist that last year’s cost (second-rounder; massive contract) were pivotal to the team’s seventh Super Bowl appearance.
6. Laken Tomlinson, from Lions (2017). He’s been a dependable starter at left guard, and although he started this season with mixed results, he rebounded well last game.
*Notable players traded away: Tight end Vance McDonald (Steelers, 2017), cornerback Rashard Robinson (Jets, 2017), right tackle Trent Brown (2018, Patriots), center Daniel Kilgore (2018, Dolphins), linebacker Eli Harold (2018, Lions), linebacker Dekoda Watson (2019, Broncos), receiver Marquise Goodwin (2020, Eagles), running back Matt Breida (2020, Dolphins)