Report: 49ers inquired about trading for Cameron Dantzler

Following yet another season-ending injury for cornerback Jason Verrett, the San Francisco 49ers signed veteran free agent Dre Kirkpatrick to replace him. Before they did that, however, it sounds like John Lynch picked up the phone and called Rick Spielman.

According to David Lombardi, the 49ers beat writer for The Athletic, the 49ers called the Minnesota Vikings and inquired about a potential trade for second-year cornerback Cameron Dantzler. As you can see, however, nothing wound up happening as a result of whatever discussions were had.

Dantzler’s star certainly has fallen over the past few months. He finished the 2020 season as the Vikings’ clear #1 cornerback, but this past Sunday in the season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Dantzler was the lone cornerback on the roster that was inactive. . .a healthy scratch, at that.

However, the fact that Rick Spielman could not be swayed to trade Dantzler for what would likely be pennies on the proverbial dollar. . .I can’t imagine the trade would have netted more than a late Day 3 pick. . .might speak to the fact that Dantzler still figures into the Vikings’ plans for the long term. Obviously, we don’t know exactly what was discussed as far as potentially trading him away, but given that Dantzler has shown that he’s capable of high levels of play in the not-so-distant past, perhaps they feel comfortable allowing him some more time to develop behind some of the players they signed to shorter deals this offseason.

If any more details emerge as to what sort of conversation the Vikings and Niners had about Cameron Dantzler, we will provide an update. The only thing we know for sure, though, is that Dantzler is still a Minnesota Viking and the Niners went in another direction at cornerback, at least for now.