The San Francisco 49ers traded their started strong side linebacker on Thursday, dealing Eli Harold to the Detroit Lions for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. On Thursday, head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch discussed the trade, and considering what they had to say, it was not a surprising trade.
Harold offers solid work setting the edge against the run, but in his three seasons with the 49ers, he never emerged as a serious presence in the pass rush. The evolution of the league into more passing, and thus more nickel and dime packages means a traditional edge setter does not have the same value he used to.