Potential NFL Trade Replacements for 49ers After Nick Bosa Injury

The San Francisco 49ers are undefeated entering Week 4, despite injuries ravaging the team since the summer.

In Week 3, the injury bug took a huge bite out of the defense when star edge-rusher Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending ACL tear.

It's an unfortunate continuation of a theme for the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year—and a devastating blow to a defense that will now have to lean hard on rookie Mykel Williams and Bryce Huff, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

If the Niners want to keep their quest for a return to the postseason alive, general manager John Lynch may want to swing another trade for a pass-rusher.

And there are several potential options who could be available, ranging from veteran retreads to the 2024 sack king.

Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals

AP Photo/Kirk Irwin

Trey Hendrickson

If the 49ers believe they have a roster that can make a deep playoff run when healthy, the first call Lynch should make is to the Cincinnati Bengals.

After leading the league with 17.5 sacks last year, Trey Hendrickson spent much of the summer angling for a new deal in the Queen City. He didn't get that new deal, but he returned to the team after the Bengals reworked his contract.

Through three games, Hendrickson has seven tackles, two sacks and six quarterback hits.

With Joe Burrow's season likely over due to a toe injury and backup Jake Browning struggling with interceptions, a Bengals team that entered the season with postseason aspirations is going to have to come to grips with some harsh realities—one of which is that Hendrickson's days in Cincinnati are numbered.

If Cincy was going to sign the 30-year-old for the long term, it would have happened over the summer.

That doesn't mean Hendrickson would come cheaply. Given his resume (four seasons with at least 13.5 sacks), demand for his services would be high. It would likely take at least a second-round pick to make a deal happen, and there may well be a team in win-now mode out there willing to pony up a first.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Kayvon Thibodeaux

The New York Giants are 0-3 and have turned over the offense to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

It may seem early to start looking toward 2026, but that's what the Giants should do because 2025 is going to be depressing.

In the opinion of B/R's Kris Knox, that means the team should look to move edge-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux for a second-round pick or offensive starter.

"If the Giants aren't overly committed to Thibodeaux, now would be the perfect time to move him," he said. "The pivot to Dart at quarterback signals the start of a new era for New York. Moving Thibodeaux could bring back a quality offensive player and/or high draft pick to aid the young quarterback this season or next. New York has some talented offensive skill players, but it should look to put as much talent around Dart as it can get."

The Giants spent a top-five pick on Thibodeaux in 2022, but they just drafted Abdul Carter third overall and are committed to Brian Burns through at least 2026, when Thibodeaux will be a free agent.

Thibodeaux has shown he can be an impact player in the NFL (he had 11.5 sacks in 2023), and the 49ers would theoretically have him under team control this season and next.

Like Hendrickson, though, Thibodeaux is going to cost at least a second-round pick. And if he's traded, it's likely the 24-year-old will want a new contract.

Jaelan Phillips, Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Adam Hunger

Jaelan Phillips

The good news from here out is that the potential options at edge-rusher to sub in for Nick Bosa are substantially less expensive.

The bad news for the 49ers is that those options are less expensive for reason: They are in no way a sure bet.

However, there's a possibility Jaelan Phillips of the Miami Dolphins could have the best combination of upside and a reasonable asking price.

A first-round pick of the Dolphins in 2021, the 26-year-old logged 8.5 sacks as a rookie and followed that up with seven sacks in 2022. He appeared on track for a career year in 2023, with 6.5 sacks in eight games. But a torn Achilles cut that season short, and the following campaign he tore his ACL.

Phillips is playing this year under the fifth-year option. And while he has yet to record a sack this season, he has played a full-time snap share.

The Dolphins are an 0-3 mess likely headed for a coaching change and at least a partial rebuild. It's not especially likely they are going to give Phillips a new deal in 2026, so the team may want to get what they can while they can.

And given how his last two seasons have gone and the sad state of the Dolphins in 2025, the former Miami Hurricanes star may welcome the opportunity to reboot his career with a playoff contender.

Malcolm Koonce, Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Malcolm Koonce

At this point, the options start to become less appealing and more speculative. But edge-rusher is a premium position, and teams aren't generally in a hurry to deal dependable, productive options.

However, Malcolm Koonce of the Las Vegas Raiders could be available as a trade target, and he offers some upside...maybe.

The 27-year-old appeared to be a rising talent in 2023, amassing eight sacks that season in just 500 snaps. But his rise to stardom was derailed in 2024 when he injured his knee in practice and missed the entire season.

Koonce is back on the field 2025 and seemingly healthy. His snap share of 43 percent is similar to how much he played two years ago, but he has already gotten to the quarterback once.

A Week 1 win in New England offered a glimmer of hope Vegas was an improved team in 2025, but the 1-2 Raiders are 26th in the league in scoring offense and 24th in total defense.

This team is still at least a year away from contention, so it's far more likely to be selling than buying in this year's trade market.

With Koonce set to hit free agency again in 2026 after inking a one-year deal in the offseason to stay in Vegas, he's a piece the Raiders may be willing to part with.

Arden Key, Tennessee Titans

AP Photo/Stew Milne

Arden Key

Who says you can't go home again?

The single-season record-holder for sacks at LSU, Arden Key hasn't been able to repeat that success in the NFL.

Since being drafted in the 2018 third round by the Raiders, the 29-year-old has never had more than 6.5 sacks in a season. The most recent of those 6.5-sack campaigns came last year with the Tennessee Titans, but the first happened in 2021—in his lone season with the San Francisco 49ers.

Key is hardly a game-changer, but he's coming off the best season of his professional career—in addition to those 6.5 sacks, He set a career high with 42 total tackles and played a career-best 74 percent of the snaps.

The Titans might be the worst team in the league this year. And with Tennessee sitting 31st in the league with just two sacks after three games, it's not a stretch to say upgrading the pass rush will be a priority next year.

That means Key will likely be moving on next year anyway, so a rebuilding franchise might as well flip him for a Day 3 pick and get something.

Is it a move that inspires enthusiasm? No, but it's probably more realistic than the Niners making a huge splash.

Leonard Floyd, Atlanta Falcons

AP Photo/Danny Karnik

Leonard Floyd

This may be the least likely trade target in this piece, if only because the 49ers released veteran edge-rusher Leonard Floyd in the offseason, in part to get younger and in part because of his deficiencies against the run.

Things have changed in a big way since then, though, and the 33-year-old may be the most proven pass-rusher the Niners would be able to acquire at a relatively low cost in terms of draft capital.

Floyd was brought in by the Falcons to provide some veteran stability to a pass rush that struggled mightily a year ago. He has logged no less than 8.5 sacks in each of the past five seasons.

However, Atlanta might be willing to part with Floyd after spending a pair of first-round picks on edge-rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., while third-year pro Zach Harrison is off to a solid start to the 2025 season.

Floyd is more of a situational pass-rusher at this point—his snap share in Atlanta has been the lowest of his career. But the Niners could roll out rookie Mykel Williams and Bryce Huff as the "starters" and use Floyd as a rotational piece to take some pressure off the first-year player.

It's hardly a perfect solution, but it doesn't force the Niners to push nearly as many chips to the center of the table.