Kwon Alexander’s brief, injury-marred and expensive tenure with the 49ers is over.
The 49ers dealt the inside linebacker to the Saints on Monday, 20 months after he signed a four-year contract worth a maximum of $54 million. The 49ers reportedly will receive a conditional fifth-round draft pick and linebacker Kiko Alonso, 30, who has not played this season after suffering a torn ACL in January.
The 49ers will receive a 2022 fifth-round pick that will become a 2021 fifth-rounder if Alexander hits playing-time benchmarks this season with New Orleans, Sports Illustrated reported.
Alexander, 26, who missed 11 of 24 regular-season games because of injuries the past two seasons, has missed the past three games with a high ankle sprain. He became expendable because of the emergence of Dre Greenlaw, 23, a 2019 fifth-round pick who is younger and cheaper and has opened his career by playing in 22 of 24 games.
Greenlaw is earning a $675,000 base salary this season and is signed through 2022. The 49ers also think they have a keeper in linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, 23, a 2019 undrafted free agent who is also earning $675,000 this season.
Finances were a huge factor in dealing Alexander, given the 49ers’ looming salary-cap crunch. Alexander was due to count about $15.5 million against the cap in 2021. The 49ers will absorb a $6.9 million dead-money cap hit next season by trading him, saving more than $8 million, according to OverTheCap.com.
The 49ers moved on from a mistake that could have become more onerous: They paid Alexander more than $23 million and received 64 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception.
Before the trade, the 49ers were projected to have about $9 million in cap space in 2021, assuming the cap falls to $176 million (from $198.2 million) because of lost revenue this season related to the pandemic.
And that’s not nearly enough cash for the 49ers to keep key members of a huge group of upcoming free agents and potentially sign others to extensions. For example, inside linebacker Fred Warner and right tackle Mike McGlinchey will be eligible for extensions for the first time after this season.
The 49ers’ upcoming free-agent class includes left tackle Trent Williams, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Jason Verrett, nose tackle D.J. Jones and strong safety Jaquiski Tartt.
Alexander and Pro Bowl pass rusher Dee Ford were high-priced players the 49ers acquired last year who haven’t worked out. Ford, who hasn’t played since the season opener because of a back injury, is a strong candidate to be released in another cost-cutting move after the season.
The 49ers almot certainly would have parted ways with Alexander in the offseason, but found a suitor in the Saints willing to provide sought-after draft compensation. They 49ers already traded a 2021 third-round pick in April to acquire Williams, and they don’t want to have a puny draft class for the second straight season.
Their five-man draft in April was their smallest since 1994, and only their two first-rounders, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, figure to play meaningful roles this season. The draft provides young and relatively inexpensive players, which the 49ers will need to fill roster holes in 2021. Beyond their bigger-name free agents, for example, they have a host of role players set to hit the market, a group that includes wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, center Ben Garland and defensive end Kerry Hyder.
The 49ers have added two potential 2021 draft picks in the past week, giving them eight selections, if Alexander plays the requisite number of snaps with New Orleans. The 49ers traded a 2022 sixth-rounder for Jets defensive end Jordan Willis and received a 2021 seventh-round selection.
Alonso returned to practice Oct. 19, but he remains on injured reserve after he tore his ACL in a wild-card loss to the Vikings. Alonso, who attended Los Gatos High School, has been traded four times since 2015. The 2013 second-round pick had three straight 100-tackle seasons (2016-18).
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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November 03, 2020 at 06:23AM
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49ers trade Kwon Alexander to the Saints - San Francisco Chronicle
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