The San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills are in early trade talks that could send wide receiver Keon Coleman across the country just days before Week 1. Sources say the 49ers are willing to part with a 2027 fourth-round pick to get a deal done immediately.
The Bills’ counter has reportedly been a conditional fifth. The gap in draft capital is not enormous, but it is a real gap, and Buffalo’s front office has signaled it plans to keep Coleman despite the offer.
San Francisco has a wide receiver problem. Deebo Samuel is back after a strange free agent tour. Mike Evans was the marquee free agent addition. Christian Kirk landed on injured reserve. Rookie Ricky Pearsall is out for the season with a knee injury.
That leaves head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense thinner than anyone expected. Brock Purdy needs a real WR3, and he needs one before Sunday. Practice squad options and one-year veteran fliers can only do so much for a scheme that historically relies on three-receiver sets 65 percent of the time.
Coleman would slide in seamlessly. He is 6-foot-3, has a real catch radius, and thrived in Buffalo’s simplified route tree as a rookie. He would immediately become San Francisco’s biggest red zone target, which is exactly what the 49ers need after finishing bottom-ten in red zone touchdown rate last year.
Buffalo’s motivation to keep him is depth. Josh Allen has Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, and second-year deep threat Keon Payne. Coleman was expected to take a leap in year two, and moving him mid-camp would send a strange message to the locker room about a team that just went 13-4 and is coming off an AFC Championship Game appearance.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane rarely trades from a position of need to a position of surplus, and receiver is not exactly surplus. If San Francisco wants to force a deal, the price probably has to include a 2027 second-round pick or a proven defensive player.
The 49ers open Sunday against the Rams in a game that could easily be a playoff preview. Getting Coleman in the building before that game feels ambitious, but Shanahan has made desperate moves before, and San Francisco knows the roster is running out of margin for error.
Expect a resolution one way or the other by Saturday. Either Coleman is on a plane, or the 49ers pivot to Plan B, which is likely a veteran waiver claim or a trade for a lesser-tier receiver from a rebuilding team.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.